Skip a Beat
by AminalLuv
Summary: COMPLETE: Rory and Logan never got back together after their break up at the Pub. Rory gets a job and moves to Philadelphia to be with Jess. What will she do when she crosses paths with Logan and realizes her feelings for him never really went away? ROGA
1. Perfect?

**AN: This story takes place a few months after Rory graduates from Yale. Rory and Logan never got back together after there initial break up at the Pub when Jess was in town. Rory went to Jess's bookstore like she did in** **"The Real Paul Anka" but with a very different result. When Logan and Rory's paths cross again, how will Rory decide between the men she loves? This will eventually be a Rogan.**

* * *

Rory woke up, stretching her legs out and feeling them slide smoothly over the soft, silk sheets. She was content. She'd been through so many ups and downs the past few years but she'd finally found a way to make peace with it all. She owed much of that to the man lying next to her. She rolled over to look at her boyfriend and gave him a soft smile. "Morning," she greeted him.

Jess lifted his head and leaned towards Rory, softly pressing his lips to hers. "Morning," he replied back.

Rory's smile faded for a moment. The kiss had been sweet but there had been no passion. Shouldn't she feel passionate about the man she was living with? But the moment passed and she quickly remembered all the reasons she was with Jess. She felt safe with him; she felt free to be herself completely. With Jess she was never ashamed of whom she was- he loved her and he reminded her that it was OK to love herself. So perhaps there was no deep burning desire, no fire or lust. Passion was over rated. Passion could make you lose yourself, it could lead to making bad decisions, could lead to heart ache. Passion was something Rory could live without.

"Do you have to go to the book store today? Because I thought maybe we could spend the day together, have a picnic? I need to do a little research for a story I'm working on but it can wait until tomorrow." Rory asked as she rolled out of bed.

Jess sat up and looked at Rory. "I was going to stop in for a little while, but you know I can't resist a picnic with you, and since I'm the boss…"

"You make the rules." She smiled at him before turning and walking off towards the bathroom. She knew he'd never say no to a picnic if he could avoid it. One of their first dates had been a picnic, though it really hadn't been a date at all. Rory had still been with her first boyfriend, Dean, but Jess had outbid him for Rory and her picnic basket at a town fundraiser.

"So, what should we do this morning?" she asked over her shoulder.

Jess thought about it for a moment before an idea hit him. He smiled to himself for a second, it was a good idea. "Umm, actually…Maybe I _should_ stop by work for a little bit."

"mut-wa-hat?" Rory poked her head out of the bathroom, toothbrush in mouth and gave Jess a quizzical look, indicating that she hadn't heard him.

"I said I should probably stop by work for a little bit. I uh…I think we're expecting a shipment in today. Maybe I can just go in for the morning to verify everything then you can pick me up around noon?" he said the last as a question.

Rory held up one finger and disappeared into the bathroom once more. After a few seconds she returned, toothpaste free. "Sure, I guess that'd be alright. If you have to go to work, you have to go to work."

"Yeah well, all play and no work makes Jess a very poor boy," he said as he finally climbed out of bed. "I'll be thinking of you the whole time."

"You better," she teasingly scolded him. "And in the mean time I'll whip us up a delectable treat for our picnic."

"So, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and potato chips?"

"It's my specialty."

It'll be perfect," he promised, smiling to her and to himself. _Absolutely perfect._

* * *

"Hey! Almost ready?" Rory asked Jess as she walked into _Truncheon Books_.

"Just a couple of minutes," he told her, giving her a quick kiss. "I'm just finishing up some paperwork."

"Take your time." Rory scanned a nearby shelf as Jess walked away. She loved Jess's store; there were so many amazing books. The shelves were stocked with tons of up and coming new authors with amazing talent, and not a John Grisham novel in sight.

She picked a book off the shelf and sat down with it. Instinctively, she brought the book up to her face to smell the pages. She loved the smell of books, new and old.

"_I'm sorry, excuse me, did I just see you smell that book?_" The memory was short but vivid; she could hear the sarcastic tone in his voice and see the snarky smile he gave her. She pushed the memory out of her mind. That chapter of her life had ended a long time ago. She couldn't keep thinking of him, it hurt too much. It should have stopped hurting by now but it hadn't. Besides, she was with Jess now and he deserved her full attention. Rory opened the book and began reading, instantly captivated by the story within.

Jess returned from the back room a few minutes later. He looked over at Rory, completely immersed in some book. God, she looked beautiful when she read. She would get this look on her face, her eyes would squint slightly and her nose would crinkle up just the tiniest bit, the left corner of her mouth curved up in a tiny half smile. She had that look on her face the first time she had come to the bookstore, for the open house. She had sat in a corner, reading his book as she waited for him to finish up. That look for his book, it had been the highest compliment he had ever received. He hoped this day could be half as perfect as that one had been.

* * *

"_You know, you don't have to read it again," Jess pulled a stool up to where Rory was sitting._

"_I know I don't," she looked up from the book and flashed him a smile._

_Jess sat down. "God, there are soo many things I would change in it," he said, half sincere, half trying to be modest. _

"_Like what?" she asked, turning towards him a little more._

"_I'd keep the back cover, everything else goes," he told her with a flare of dramatics, flipping his hand away for emphasis. _

_Rory scoffed. "You know why I love your book?" She pushed her hair out of her face and smiled. Jess couldn't have been happier. This amazing, smart, beautiful woman who'd changed his whole life was sitting before him, praising him._

"_Why?" Jess asked._

"_It doesn't remind me of anything. It's not a rip off, it's just you." She loved the book, she loved that it was a piece of him. That gave him hope._

"_High praise Ms. Yale Editor," he said, turning the conversation to her. He needed to find out if her being here meant what he hoped it did._

"_Yeah well, I don't get to write as much as I would like. I'm mostly assigning and motivating, hand holding and re-writing," she complained but Jess could see in her eyes and her smile that she was happy._

"_And you love it, every minute of it. Come on, tell me you don't." Jess leaned his body in towards hers just a tiny bit._

"_I do, I do love it. It's exciting," her smile grew._

"_You look happier than when I saw you last," Jess was finally moving towards the topic he was most interested in._

"_I am," she said sincerely._

"_So…you fixed everything?" he asked, slightly hesitant._

_She wasn't a hundred percent sure what he meant but she knew what answer he was looking for and it was true for the most part. She was back in school, things were good with her Mother, and she was no longer with _ _Logan__. She didn't know if the last thing were good or bad but as far as Jess would be concerne,d it was great. "Yeah, everything's fixed."_

_That was the answer he needed. Jess leaned in even closer and looked Rory straight in the eyes. "I'm glad you're here," he told her_

"_Yeah, me too," she found herself losing her pain in his eyes. Maybe not being with _ _Logan__ was a good thing. Maybe she could finally get over him; maybe Jess would be the one to get her there._

_Jess leaned in for the kiss. Her lips were soft and he felt them part. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and reached his hand out to place it on her waist. He felt her hesitate for a moment and he was afraid she was going to pull away but instead she leaned into it and kissed him back._

_When Jess pressed his lips to Rory's, every thought in her head disappeared. She relaxed and let him deepen the kiss. She loved the feeling of lightness that went along with the emptiness in her mind. Not thinking meant not thinking about _ _Logan__. It didn't last and as Jess's tongue pressed against hers, _ _Logan__'s blond hair and chocolate brown eyes flashed in her mind. She started to pull back; she was still in love with someone else. But it didn't matter, she reminded herself. _ _Logan__ was no longer a part of her life and she had to move on. Instead of pulling away she brought her hand up behind Jess's head and pulled him in closer._

_Finally, they broke apart, catching their breath. Jess kept his gaze on Rory for a moment before his eyes quickly darted to the stairs leading to the apartment above. She had come all this way just to see him. When he kissed her, she kissed back. And it had all felt so right. This was definitely right. "Do you want to go upstairs?"_

"_What about your roommates?" she asked._

"_They won't be back for hours," he promised her._

_Rory paused for a moment, trying to think things through. She could see herself with Jess; she'd always been able to see herself with him. But would it be right to do this with him when a part of her was still in love with _ _Logan__? Would she just be using Jess as the rebound guy? Or was the love she had for _ _Logan__ the kind that would always be there? The kind of love that would stay with her long after she'd moved on? And then she made her decision. She didn't want to think anymore. She was tired of analyzing everything in her life. She just wanted to stop thinking and start doing. _

"_Let's go." She stood up, grabbing Jess's arm and pulling him up with her. They kissed again and she began moving backwards towards the stairs, her lips still locked with his._

* * *

"How's the book?" Jess asked, looking down at Rory. Jess was sitting on the blanket they had brought and Rory was lying with her head in his lap. The sun shone down on them, warm with a gentle breeze. It was the perfect, late summer day. It was already September and this might be the last chance they had to enjoy the Pennsylvania summer before the cold and snow took over.

Summer was a good time for them. They had shared there first kiss in the summer, the day he had moved to Stars Hollow for the second time. And last summer, Rory had taken an internship in Philadelphia just so they could work on their newly renewed relationship. It had been an amazing summer and the only part Jess could remember hating was the part at the end when Rory returned to Yale. They had alternated weekends, traveling from Philadelphia to Hartford and vice versa but it wasn't the same as getting to see each other every day. When Rory graduated and was offered a job at the same paper where she'd interned, she immediately accepted the offer and moved to Philadelphia to live with Jess. Now the time had come for the next step and Jess was ready.

"It's amazing," she gushed over the book she had picked up at Jess's store earlier that day. "This guy is fearless, he doesn't hold anything back. Every feeling, every action, no matter how good or bad, no matter how shameful or private, he tells you all of it and makes you feel for him. He makes me feel like I'm actually in his head."

"So you're saying you like it?" Jess asked mockingly.

"Ha ha. What about your book, is it good?"

"It's…I have no clue. To tell you truth I haven't done much reading today?" he admitted.

"Why not?" she asked, looking up at him.

"It's more fun to watch you read," he said playfully.

"Oh, stop that." Rory sat up, her cheeks blushing slightly. "You know how self conscious I get when you stare at me."

Jess smiled at her without responding. "You're doing it again," she complained.

"Sorry….Rory," he said, suddenly sounding serious.

"Yes?" Rory asked, cocking her head to the side with interest.

"Today's been…perfect," he started.

"Not half bad," she agreed.

"It's just, I've been waiting for the perfect moment to do this and…I think this is it."

Rory's stomach tightened in anticipation and Jess reached for his jacket. "Jess…" it came out as a whisper as she watched him pull something from the pocket.

"Rory, I know this may seem soon considering we spent so much time apart last year while you were at school. But being so far away from you after finally getting you back, it made me see what I'm missing without you in my life. You helped me grow up and become the man that I am…I know how cliché that sounds, but it's true. I was so mixed up when you first came into my life. I didn't trust anybody, I hated the world. You made me love the world, but I love it a lot more when I'm loving it with you. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is…" Jess unveiled the velvet box he had retrieved from his pocket. He opened it slowly, revealing a sparkling diamond ring. "Rory Gilmore, will you marry me?


	2. Homecoming King of Cretins

Logan stepped off the tarmac and into the airport baggage claim. Being back in Hartford after so much time was bittersweet. There were so many memories, good and bad. He wasn't ready to think about it, he just wanted to get home and get some sleep.

Logan scanned the room looking for the sign with his name on it. He quickly located a giant poster board with "Mr. Huntzberger" scribbled on it in crayon. _That's a fairly unorthodox way for a driver to greet somebody_, he thought to himself. Before he had time to put two and two together, Logan grabbed his bags and approached the man holding the sign. "Excuse me sir," he said.

"How may I help you?" a man with an Australian accent asked, pulling the sign down to reveal his smirking face and the face of the man standing next to him.

"Finn? Colin? Men! What are you doing here?" Logan greeted his friends enthusiastically pulling each of them in for a manly hug.

"You didn't think we'd let your homecoming go uncelebrated did you?" Colin asked patting is buddy on the back.

"I should have known better," Logan agreed. "I guess this means I'm not getting any sleep tonight."

"Maybe a couple of hours mate, but only if you're not sleeping alone." Finn winked at his friend.

"And trust me; we won't let you go home alone," Colin promised.

"You can't have Rosemary though, tonight's the night she finally goes home with me," Finn said triumphantly.

"Does she know this?" Logan asked, laughing slightly.

"Not yet," Finn admitted.

"Man, I missed you guys," Logan said, smiling broadly. _Maybe being home was going to be great after all._

* * *

"I can't believe you guys still hang out here," Logan told his friends as they approached the Pub.

"Best establishment at Yale," Finn told him.

"Yeah but you're not students anymore."

"So?" Colin asked

"You're officially the creepy old alumni that hit on all the college girls at the down town bars."

"So?" Finn asked, mimicking Colin.

Logan shook his head. "Never mind."

The three men walked into the bar. Logan looked around at all the decorations. "This is the best you could come up with?" he teased.

"What? It's a homecoming party on this, the day of your homecoming." Colin motioned to the football decorations hanging everywhere.

"The votes have been tallied and they've named you Homecoming King, mate," Finn announced, grabbing the plastic crown they had purchased off a nearby table.

"Now all you have to do is choose your Queen," Colin prompted.

"You guys are really something else, you know that?" Logan asked his best friends.

"Well, I'd offer to be your Queen but I just can't walk in the heels; so if you really feel that way about us, you'll have to choose Colin," The Australian man told him.

"Sorry Huntz, not a chance. I've got my eye on that bubbly blonde over there." Colin nodded his head in the direction of the bar where a blonde girl in a very short skirt and a "Yale" tank top stood, downing a shot.

"I got five hundred bucks says she's taken," Logan offered.

"Please, that's chump change; you know Colin's taste in women better than that," Finn admonished his friend.

"Well what can I say? My father's been trying to teach me responsibility and the value of a dollar and all that jazz," Logan admitted shamefully.

"Well we'll have to rectify that man. We'll start by helping you chose your Queen. Who do you like?" Colin asked.

"Maybe I should talk to some of them before I choose," Logan suggested.

"Oh no, this is bad. He _is_ trying to be responsible," Finn said in a horrified voice. "He wants to choose a woman based on her personality."

"Well I know what will make any respectable man turn into the King of Cretins," Colin announced.

"And he's already a King tonight so he's half way there," Finn added.

"Let's get this man to the bar," Collin said.

"To the bar!" Finn cheered, raising a glass of beer.

"Where'd you get the beer Finn? We just walked in," Logan asked incredulously

"I have my ways, mate," Finn gave him a wink.

Several hours later, Logan sat at a booth talking to a brunette girl whose name he could not remember. She was rambling on about some trip to Tahiti but he wasn't paying much attention. It wasn't that he wasn't enjoying himself; on the contrary he was having the time of his life. It had been so long since he'd partied with his friends like this and he wanted to take in every sight and sound.

The girl stood up suddenly, "I'm going to get another drink. Do you want something…King Logan?" she bowed in jest.

"Sure, I'll take a refill," he said, swirling the ice around his almost empty glass. The girl walked away and as he looked towards the bar he could tell it would take her a while to get the drinks.

He sat back, taking in the scene before him. They'd had so many unforgettable nights here. This was probably one of his favorite places on earth. Sure there had been a few off nights, like the one with the folk singer. She had been quite bad, though he felt somewhat guilty about the way he had acted that night. At least he'd had a chance to send a round of apology drinks her way the next time he'd been there. What were the chances he'd run into her again? He laughed to himself at the irony but quickly stopped. The memory of the full night's events associated with that evening slowly came back to him. Logan's good mood began to fade away.

_

* * *

_

_He had gotten to leave Omaha early and he should have been in a better mood as he pulled up to Rory's, but his father had dropped a bomb on him earlier that day and he was still reeling from the news. Hopefully his girlfriend would be able to cheer him up. _

_He pulled into the driveway expecting to surprise Rory but he suddenly realized he was the one getting the surprise. Rory was walking out of the house with another guy. He found his mood quickly worsening. Who did this punk think he was and what was Rory doing with him? _ _Logan__ stopped the car and got out._

" _Logan__," Rory said. He was sure she sounded guilty. What was going on?_

"_Am I interrupting something?" he asked suspiciously._

"_No. Hey! When did you get back?" she asked surprised._

"_A couple of hours ago," he told her._

"_Oh, I ah...I thought you were getting back tomorrow," her gaze shifted away from his._

"_I thought I'd surprise you Ace," _ _Logan__ forced a smile. What the hell was going on? A secret rendez-vous with another guy when he was supposed to be out of town? Rory couldn't possibly cheat on him but why the hell was she acting so guiltily?_

"_Well I'm glad you did because you get to meet my old friend Jess. This is Logan, my boyfriend Logan. This is Jess, he's in from out of town," Rory was clearly uncomfortable with the situation and _ _Logan__ wondered what the deal was with this Jess guy. There was history there and _ _Logan__ didn't like it._

"_Wow, that sounded so grown up. We're at the age now where we say things like 'in from out of town' and 'old friend' because when you're young all your friends are new. You have to get old to have old friends." As far as _ _Logan__ was concerned this "friendship" wasn't nearly old enough._

"_How you doing?" _ _Logan__ leaned over and offered Jess his hand in a way that was most definitely not friendly._

"_Ok." Jess said with fake sincerity._

"_We were just gonna go grab a bite to eat," Rory interjected._

"_Great well how about if we all go together? Is that OK?" There was no way _ _Logan__ was going to let Rory go off by herself with this guy._

"_Ok by me," Jess replied flipply_

"_Good," _ _Logan__ replied._

"_Alright, good. We were actually at a loss for where to go so you actually saved us." Rory said, desperately trying to ease the tension._

"_Call me Superman. Why don't you follow us?" _ _Logan__ put his arm around Rory in a none to subtle way._

"_Sure," Jess said._

"_Great, come on," _ _Logan__ led Rory to his car._

_The ride to the Pub was completely silent. What was he supposed to say? He was jealous and angry and any words that came out of his mouth could only cause trouble._

_Things didn't get any better when they reached the Pub though they were definitely a lot less quiet. _ _Logan__ couldn't help himself. He hated this guy. He hated that he'd found him with Rory, hated that he'd dated Rory. _

_He couldn't help but wonder just how serious they had been as a couple. Were they in love? Did they sleep together? He didn't really want to know but he couldn't help the thoughts passing through his mind._

_He'd finally gotten the best of Jess and the man stormed out of the Pub. Now _ _Logan__ could be alone with Rory. Instead, she ran off following her ex and leaving _ _Logan__ alone to stew in his jealousy and rage._

_After sitting there alone for a minute _ _Logan__ heard a vaguely familiar voice. He scanned the bar and found the folk singer from the other night. His anger lifted slightly as he took in the irony of it. This would be a good thing to tell Rory when she got back, a way to break the ice. He called the waitress over and asked her to bring a drink to the singer._

_When Rory came back he tried to act nonchalantly. He just wanted the whole awful day to be over. All he wanted was to pretend none of it had ever happened; not _ _Omaha__, not his father, not the news of his impending doom, and definitely not Jess. Rory wouldn't let him forget though. She told him what an ass he'd been. What had she expected? That he would interrupt her secret date with her old boyfriend and act all buddy-buddy? Of course he was being as ass. He had a right to be an ass._

_He couldn't take it anymore, he had to get out of there but Rory refused to leave with him. Logan threw some money down on the table and stormed out, he couldn't stand to look at her anymore. She was supposed to be his salvation from this awful day and instead she'd plunged the knife even deeper._

_As _ _Logan__ drove home the whole night kept playing in his head. It was awful, he'd never been that jealous before. Sure, he'd been jealous when Rory showed up to Finn's birthday with Robert but it had been nothing like this. That had been about six months ago and if he'd grown this attached since then he could only imagine how he'd feel about Rory in another six months when he was forced to leave her. Could he deal with that?_

_He'd left the state for two days and he came back to find her with another man. Sure, deep down he knew it was innocent but still, nothing had ever hurt so much. What would happen when he left the country for a whole year as his father had now told him he would have to do?_

_Logan__ felt himself falling in love with Rory Gilmore. In all honesty he'd probably been fallen for quite some time now but he wouldn't let himself admit it. He couldn't fall any harder; he couldn't take any more heart ache._

_Perhaps it was best that they end it now. Perhaps if he just left it this way he could save himself the heart ache. So that was it then, it was over._

* * *

"Oh no, we've lost him." Logan heard Colin say as he immerged from his memory.

"What's the matter mate? You get turned down or something, because that's just not right. You're the King after all." Finn told him.

"What? Oh, no…What's 'er name just went to get a drink," Logan told his friends with a shrug and a nod of his head towards the bar.

"Then why so glum?" Finn asked.

"I'm not," he assured them.

"You sure? Because our man Finn here can do his _Passion of the Christ_ for ya," Colin said, not so reassuringly.

"Oh god no!" Logan said, horrified. "I think it's just the jet-lag mixed with the scotch. I'm getting kind of tired."

"Logan Huntzberger does _not_ get tired." Colin said in disbelief.

"He does now. Guess I'm getting old boys," Logan told them.

"Don't joke like that," Finn admonished his friend.

Logan smiled at his two best friends. "Seriously guys, this has been the best homecoming a man could ask for but I think it's time for the King to bow out."

"I'm disappointed in you Huntz," Colin shook his head at his friend. "You need a ride home?"

"From you guys?" Logan laughed. "I think I'll take a cab."

"Wise decision," Colin told him. "We'll walk you out."

* * *

Logan entered his new apartment, pushing aside boxes of his things and making his way to the bed room. He collapsed on the bed without even changing out of his clothes. As he lay there his thoughts returned to Rory. He knew this town would bring back memories of her. He'd made the biggest mistake of his life walking out on her that night. He thought he was making a clean break before he got too caught up in her but he was wrong; he'd already been too caught up.

Logan hadn't talked to Rory since that day. He tired to move on but he couldn't. He did everything in his power to avoid running into Rory because he knew it would be too painful. He'd avoided the Yale Daily News like the plague much to his father's dismay and he even stopped buying coffee at the coffee cart.

Logan had actually found himself looking forward to London, though he wouldn't admit it. Getting away from the memories would help him move on. And he had been right, it had helped. He still thought of Rory from time to time but there weren't constant reminders everywhere. Her memory remained buried most of the time and although she was always with him, it was a bearable ache instead of a heart crushing pain.

As Logan drifted off to sleep he found himself wondering where Rory Gilmore was. He wondered if she'd achieved her dreams and found happiness in her life. As Logan drifted off to sleep he wondered if he'd ever see her again.

* * *


	3. A Diamond is Forever

Rory stared disbelievingly at the ring before her. She was stunned. She couldn't speak; she didn't know what to say. She looked up at Jess, at the look in his eyes. She could almost hear him, silently pleading with her to say yes. She _wanted_ to say yes, she wanted to make him happy. She looked back at the ring. A _diamond is forever_, the stone reminded her. Forever, like marriage would be. She _wanted_ to say no, she wanted to tell him she loved him but not in a forever kind of way.

The silence stretched on and finally Jess spoke again. "It's alright. You don't have to answer me now. This is a big deal. Take your time," he told her but she knew he didn't mean it.

Rory didn't know what to do. Was there enough between them to last a life time? Was he her forever? Was there someone out there whom she could love more? Someone who could make her heart skip a beat whenever she saw him?

Logan's "get lost in me" chocolate brown eyes and his knee weakening smirk flashed before her eyes. Yes, he could make her heart skip a beat but he wasn't an option anymore. He had left her and Jess had been the one to help her move on. He had been the one to give her the courage to get her life back on track. Without even knowing it he had gotten her out of her grandparent's house and back in school. Without even knowing it he had helped dull the ache that Logan had left in her heart. He had saved her twice. Rory owed Jess everything, she owed him her forever.

"No," she said.

Jess's smile died and his eyes dimmed, his posture fell but he held the tears back. "It's OK, I understand."

"No!" Rory said again, more adamantly this time.

"Alright already, I get it," he told her angrily, standing up.

"Wait, Jess!" Rory grabbed onto his hand. "You _don't_ get it. I didn't mean 'no, I won't marry you.' I meant 'no, I don't need to take my time.'"

"Oh…oh so that means…" Jess's face lit up again.

"Uh huh," Rory smiled and nodded at him.

Jess, still holding onto Rory's hand from when she had grabbed him, pulled her up. He looked into her eyes for a moment before pulling her into a kiss.

It was a good kiss, Rory had to admit but she found herself thinking that a moment like this should be better than just good. A moment like this should be the most romantic, most passionate moment of her life. This kiss should have been mind blowingly amazing. She'd had mind blowingly amazing before. The night Logan had climbed through her window the first time they'd had sex. His touch had sent shivers up her spine and the feel of his lips on hers had made her head tingle; her whole body had been screaming for him. The night of Finn's birthday party was up there too. She had wanted to rip his robe off right there in the middle of the party. Stopping that kiss had taken every ounce of her strength. She'd had mind blowingly amazing before but that was in the past, from now on she'd have to settle for good.

* * *

"I need to call my Mom and tell her the good news," Rory smiled brightly at Jess as they walked into their apartment several hours later.

"Of course you do," Jess said knowingly; Rory shared everything with her mother and name sake, Lorelai Gilmore. "Do you want to go out and celebrate tonight? I can call up and make us some reservations while you're on the phone."

"I think we should stay in and celebrate," Rory gave him a wink.

"I like that plan," Jess said. "Go! Call you're Mom. I'll take care of dinner," he gave her a quick kiss and walked into the kitchen.

Rory sat down on the couch and pulled out her phone.

"Did you know that if you shoot at an alligator it'll just bounce right off of them? You could lose an eye that way. You'd have to spend the rest of your life walking around with an eye patch and a parrot." Lorelai's voice chirped through the phone

"Darn it, now how am I going to get rid of the monstrous reptile living in my bath tub without having to turn pirate?" Rory joked

"Arrr! I Guess you'll just have to do it the old fashioned way, matey, and wrastle him to the death," Lorelai told her daughter mockingly.

"I told you to stop watching Animal Planet Mom, everything on there grosses you out." The younger Gilmore scolded playfully.

"Not everything, sometimes they have America's Funniest Pets on. There's nothing more fun than watching a border collie ride a unicycle. Besides, Paul Anka finds it soothing." Lorelai argued.

"Fine, do what you want. You will anyway. But when you start having nightmares about mating hyenas, don't call me."

"Fine, I won't…So kiddo, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" Lorelai asked.

"Actually, I have some really good news I wanted to share with you," Rory began.

"Good news? For me? I feel special. Ooh did Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban break up because that _would_ be good news. I mean, I love Luke and all but Keith is my soul mate."

"Well Keith can wait until after _my_ big news."

"Fine," Lorelai pouted. "What's your big news?"

"Jess and I…" Rory paused for a moment. "…are getting married."

"Really? Oh Rory, that's amazing. I'm so happy for you. I want you to be happy. You're happy right?" Lorelai asked.

"What? Why wouldn't I be happy?" Rory asked her mom.

"No reason," Lorelai told her.

"What?" Rory asked pointedly.

"What 'what'?"

"What do you want to say? I know there's something," Rory prodded her mother, she could read the older woman like a book and she knew her mom was holding back.

"I just want to make sure you're sure, that's all," Lorelai told her daughter, innocently.

"Is this a problem with Jess? Because I thought you liked him now."

"I do, I do like him kiddo. He's grown into really great guy. Besides, this isn't about how I feel about him; this is how about how _you_ feel about him."

"And I feel good about him, so what's the problem?" Rory asked.

"Only good?"

"Stop that! This is my happy news; you're supposed to be happy for me," Rory said, flabbergasted.

"I am happy for you, kid. I said I was happy for you. Am I not allowed to ask if _you're_ happy?" Lorelai replied.

"You implied that I wasn't happy. Why would you think I wouldn't be happy?"

"It's nothing it's just…"

"Just what?" Rory asked.

"It's just that I never really thought you talked about Jess in a 'madly in love, want to spend the rest of your lives together' kind of way. But I'm probably way off on this. You say you're happy and I believe you. I never get to see you any more; my maternal instincts are probably just on the fritz."

"That must be it because I _am_ happy and I _do_ want to marry Jess," Rory told her mother with more certainty than she felt.

"Well then, in that case I'm thinking summer wedding…."

* * *

"Oh. My. God!" Rory's friend Sue had spotted her engagement ring from across the news room and come running over. The eye that girl had for jewelry was amazing. She could spot the back of an earring in a shaggy rug in 2 seconds flat. "How could you not have told me about this?" she asked incredulously. "I'm supposed to be your best friend. When did it happen? How did he ask you? Was it romantic? I bet it was romantic," Sue swooned.

"Calm down, it only happened on Saturday," Rory assured her.

"Saturday? But today is Monday. That's two whole days." Sue complained, pushing her red hair behind her ear to get a better look at the ring.

"Actually, it's one day and two nights," Rory corrected. Sue looked up and gave Rory a scowl.

"This is a nice ring," Sue said, her eyes back on Rory's left hand. "Jess's book store must being doing pretty well. Maybe you should set me up with one of his partners," she suggested playfully.

"I'm sure Tim would love that," Rory said, referring to her best friend's boyfriend.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about him." The red headed girl grinned.

"I'm sure he'll be pleased to hear that," Rory told her.

"Seriously though, I'm so excited for you. We need to start planning your wedding right away. We should start looking at dresses. Oh, you'll look so beautiful all dressed in white with a poofy crinoline skirt and long satiny train. Oh, I can't wait," Sue gushed

"Seriously, between you and my mom I won't have to plan a thing for this wedding. She's already decided on a summer wedding and you've picked out my dress. Just tell me when to show up and point me towards the church," Rory told her friend.

"Really, a church wedding? Because I was thinking an outdoor ceremony might be nice."

"Oh come on," Rory sighed. "Don't I get to make any decisions?"

"Not, if I have anything to say about it." Sue smiled.

Rory smiled back. It was good that someone was excited about this wedding. Rory wanted to be excited, she really wanted to but she just wasn't. She wasn't second guessing herself of regretting her decision, she didn't really feel much about it one way or another. Maybe some of Sue's enthusiasm would rub off on her. She was going to be a blushing bride after all; she should be the happiest girl in the world. And Rory was happy; she was marrying one of her best friends. So maybe she wasn't the _happiest_ girl in the _whole_ world, but that didn't mean she was making a mistake. Did it?


	4. Moving Backwards

" Logan, I'd like to have a word with you," Mitchum told his son as they walked out of a meeting at the Hartford Sun.

"Sure Dad," Logan said stoically as he looked at his watch. It was after 1 o'clock already and Logan was starving but he figured he'd get to lunch sooner if he just pandered to his father.

Mitchum led his son into an empty conference room near by and sat down. "Have a seat." Logan did as he was told.

"I wanted to talk to you about some things," Mitchum began.

"OK."

"You did some great work in London, I want to tell you that. I knew that if you put your mind to it, you could be great at this job."

"Thank you," Logan said, slightly taken aback by the rare compliment from his father.

"Don't thank me yet," Mitchum warned. "You've been distracted since you've been back, your work has been slipping."

"Well I've only been back a month, I'm still getting used to being here again," Logan defended himself.

"Really? Because I sense the opposite problem. I think you're a little too comfortable here. You're spending too much time with those old friends of yours and you're slipping back into bad habits," Mitchum said matter of factly.

"That's bullshit, Dad, and you know it. I hardly ever get to spend time with Colin and Finn or any of my other friends. You've got me working 24-7. I don't have a life anymore," Logan said angrily.

"Don't you dare speak to me like that. I am you're father and you'll show me some respect," Mitchum boomed. "Just because you're not off gallivanting about like a drunken frat boy, jumping off of things and making a fool of yourself doesn't mean you don't have a life. You have important responsibilities and you're going to take them seriously."

"That's all I _have_ is responsibilities," Logan bit back. "You tell me I still have a life, I have _your_ life. Well I don't want that life. Look what it did to you. It made you angry and spiteful and selfish and greedy."

"That's enough!" Mitchum demanded. "You're life is what it is. This is the plate you've been handed and I'm sorry if you don't like it but it's better than going hungry. Now, you will do what is expected of you and you will do it without another complaint."

Logan sat back in his chair and sighed. His father was right. His father was an asshole, but he was right. He had been trained for the newspaper business since he was old enough to crawl. This was his life, it was the only life he knew and it was the one he would have to live with. "Fine, what do you want?"

"I think it's time you took on the full responsibilities of a Huntzberger. The company has been looking to acquire a new paper. I think this would be a good project for you to take on. There are several prospects that I've been looking at," Mitchum informed his son.

"So what do you want me to do?" Logan asked.

"You're going to research these papers, decide which one is the best investment. I'll help you negotiate a deal to buy the paper. After that you will stay on and manage it."

"And I'm guessing these papers aren't here in Hartford," Logan speculated

"No they are not."

"So where are you sending me now, Dad? Argentina? Lebanon? Siberia? Just how far away are we talking?"

"You'll be going to Philadelphia, you leave on Monday."

* * *

"Getting another cup of coffee?" Sue asked as she walked into the break room. "What a surprise."

"Now you know I can't function without my twelve cups a day," Rory reminded her.

"I don't suppose you have a few minutes to sit and enjoy your coffee with your bestest friend in the whole wide world do you?" Sue asked.

"Well…for my bestest friend in the whole wide world I suppose I could spare a few minutes- but since she's in Connecticut I should probably get back to work," Rory teased.

"Fine, I don't need your company. I'll just sit here all sad and lonely drinking my coffee by myself," Sue pouted.

"You know, drinking alone is the first sign of a problem," Rory told her friend.

"I'm the one with a coffee problem? You really want to stick with that story?" Sue asked.

"You've got me there," Rory shrugged her shoulders, finally pulling a chair out to sit at the table. "So what do you want to talk about? Anything particular on your mind?"

"Nah, just looking for some mindless chatter. We could always talk about your wedding. Tim is never proposing to me so I need to plan my wedding vicariously through yours."

"I know what you meant to say was 'I'm so excited for you Rory, I just keep thinking of all these ways to make this wedding perfect for you.'"

"Yeah, something like that," Sue said. "Now, about my bride's maid dress…"

"Oh well I was thinking a sort of Barbie convertible pink, because it'll go so well with your red hair." Rory said with mock seriousness.

"Oh now that _would_ be nice. You're dress is going to be all black I assume, to bring out the evilness in your eyes."

The girls looked up from there conversation as the door to the break room opened and a man in his mid thirties walked in. "Hey ladies. Talking about anything interesting?"

"Hi Brad," Sue greeted the new comer. "Just a little girl talk here."

"Girl talk? So like, shoes and lingerie and pillow fights?" Brad asked playfully.

"Oh you really know your girl talk, Brad," Rory jested. "We girls love out pillow fights."

"But only if by 'pillow' what you mean is a pillow _case_ filled with loose feathers." Sue chimed in.

"Yeah, but they have to be the magic feathers that float around the room in slow motion," Rory added.

"Oh now come on, not at work ladies. Save that kind of talk for the bedroom," Brad admonished.

"Oh we're sorry. Please, let's talk about something that you find appropriate Brad. How about that hooker you picked up last night?" Sue teased.

"Oh, low blow ladies," Brad said, stirring the milk into his coffee as he sat down at the table with them.

"Sorry," Sue said mischievously.

"So, did you girls hear the news?" Brad asked, changing the topic.

"What news?" Sue asked.

"Frank is thinking of selling the Liberty Herald," he informed the two girls.

"What? Why? He loves it here," Rory said.

"Well I don't think he's actively trying to sell or anything, he's just entertaining an offer."

"Was it an offer he couldn't refuse?" Sue said in an awful _Godfather_ imitation.

"Wow, _that_ was bad," Rory told her friend regretfully.

"Whatever, I'm a journalist not a stand up comedian."

"Seriously though, you don't really think he'd sell the paper," Rory asked, getting back on topic.

"Maybe, if the price is right," Brad told them.

"Ooh, The Price is Right. We could work for Bob Barker, how much fun would that be?" Sue joked.

"Nah, he'd make us put a whole bunch of PSA's in the paper about how you should spay or neuter your pet," Rory said. "PSA's are only fun on TV when they're done by really bad actors with floundering careers."

"I'll never know where you girls get all your energy," Brad told them with a shake of his head.

"Twelve cups a day," Rory said, shaking her empty coffee cup in Brad's face.

"So anyway," Brad continued. "Frank apparently has a meeting set up with Huntzberger Publishing Group for Thursday."

"Huntzberger Publishing? So we're talking big leagues here," Sue said, impressed.

"Thursday? _This_ Thursday?" Rory ask in a panicked voice. "Mitchum Huntzberger is coming _here_, this Thursday?

"Why Gilmore? Not enough time to prepare that brown nose of yours?" Brad replied sarcastically.

Sue looked over at Rory and noticed that her already pale complexion had gone whiter than the wedding dresses they'd been looking at. She kicked Brad in the shin under the table and shot him the evil eye. "Rory's not a brown noser," she told him.

"It's just soon, that's all. I like working for Frank and that's pretty soon to think he might not be our boss anymore," Rory rambled, trying to cover up her true feelings. "I'm ah… I'm gonna go back to work now." Rory stood up and walked out of the break room.

"Ow!" Brad finally said once the door had closed behind Rory. "What'd you kick me for?"

"You know, for a journalist you're not very observant," Sue told him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Didn't you see the look on Rory's face? That wasn't because she likes working for Frank and doesn't want him to sell the paper, moron. There's a story there," Sue rolled her eyes at her co-workers obliviousness.

"But did you have to kick me?" he asked her.

"Yes." Sue said, standing up from the table.

"It hurt," Brad complained.

"Wuss!" Sue told him as she walked out of the room.

* * *

Rory sat on a bench outside the door to the Liberty Herald. The world was spinning. Or maybe her head was spinning but it felt like the world. She breathed slowly and deeply, trying to calm her nerves.

Mitchum was going to buy the paper…her paper. She couldn't work for him, it was too much. He would come down here for a while. She would see him everyday. She couldn't see him everyday.

All the horrible things that could come from this were swimming through her head. What if he somehow managed to convince her, yet again, that she wasn't cut out for the newspaper business? What if he fired her? What if he was perfectly nice to her now that she was no longer with Logan and she realized that he _had_ just screwed up her whole life in an attempt to manipulate her relationship?

At the thought of Logan a new panic set in. Would she see him? Would he come down with his father or was he working somewhere else? Would she have to hear about him everyday? What if he was miserable? Worse yet, what if he was happy? What if he had fallen in love with someone new?

The thoughts popped into her head in quick succession, each one more real than the next. And as each possibility became more tangible everything else around her became less real, less tangible. Rory felt her heart racing along with her thoughts. She was breathing faster and shallower and he muscles were trembling. Everything felt so far away, like she was floating away and watching the world disappear beneath her. She felt like she needed to do something, to move, to walk.

As Rory stood up she felt someone grab her by the arm. "Hey there Gilmore, going somewhere?" Sue's voice sounded very far away.

"Walk," Rory said tersely.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Sue warned. "Why don't you sit back down?"

"But…" Rory began.

"The only but I want is yours on that bench," Sue directed her. Rory obeyed. "Good, now take a deep breath and try to concentrate on my voice."

Rory breathed in slowly and deliberately. "That's right, deep breaths," Sue reminded her. Rory listened to Sue's voice. She squeezed her eyes shut and continued to take deep breaths. When she opened her eyes the world suddenly seemed more focused.

"Feeling better?" Sue asked.

Rory nodded her head. "So _that's_ what a panic attack looks like from a third person point of view," Sue said, giving Rory a small smile. "You must _really_ love working for Frank to have this kind of reaction."

Rory remained silent so Sue spoke again. "You want to tell me what this is all about?"

"It's nothing," Rory told her.

"I know nothing, that wasn't it."

"It's just…I've worked for Mitchum Huntzberger before." Rory said, deciding to share half the story with her friend.

"And I'm guess it wasn't all fun and good times?" Sue asked.

"His estimations of my potential as a journalist were less than stellar, and I kind of took his opinions to heart," Rory explained.

"Just how close to the heart are we talking?"

"I dropped out of school."

"That's pretty close to the heart," Sue acknowledged.

"I got into this huge fight with my Mom and didn't speak to her for months," Rory continued.

"What? You and Lorelai never go more than a day without talking to each other."

"I know, it was awful." Rory admitted. "Eventually it was Jess that got through to me. I hadn't heard from him in forever and he just showed up one night. He had just gotten his book published and I was so proud of him. He was doing something with his life and I wasn't. He let me know just how stupid I was being for giving up on my dreams," Rory continued with the abridged version of events.

"Aww, that's so sweet…The last part with Jess anyhow, the rest of it, not so much."

"I can't work for him again, Sue. I can't work for the man who almost ruined my life. The Huntzbergers are supposed to be in my past."

"The Huntzburger_s_?" Sue asked quizzically, emphasizing the plural.

"You know what I mean," Rory said, attempting to sound nonchalant. Telling the Mitchum story was hard enough, she couldn't talk about Logan now too.

"Sure," Sue said hesitantly. She felt like she was missing a part of the story but she decided to let it go for now. "Listen, we'll figure this out. We won't let Frank sell the paper. If necessary we'll just put our worst foot forward on Thursday and make sure that Huntzberger doesn't _want_ to buy the paper. Nothing's set in stone yet, we'll figure this out."

"Thanks Sue, it's good to know I have a friend who will screw over another friend for me," Rory gave the red head a wink.

Sue smiled brightly. "Anytime."


	5. Knight in Shinning Armor

It was Wednesday afternoon, the day before the big day. Rory felt her chest tightening beneath her calm façade. She had no intention of running into Mitchum but there were still so many things that could go wrong with the situation. Rory opened her desk drawer, pushing half the contents of her desk into it.

"Watcha doing?" Sue asked, walking up to Rory's desk.

"Hiding anything with my name or picture on it." Rory looked up at her friend. "Do you see anything I missed?"

Sue shook her head slightly and let out a short, breathy chuckle. "What do you think this guy is going to do? Interrogate your personalized stationary?"

"I don't know. I just feel weird about him knowing I work here. I'm acting crazy, I know but Mitchum Huntzberger has this way of getting into your head and…I don't know, I guess I'm just trying to be extra cautious."

"So you're not coming into the office at all tomorrow?" Sue asked.

"Nope, I'm going to be as far from here as possible. Actually I'm going to Hershey tomorrow. I've got a few interviews lined up for a story I'm writing on this Dance Marathon thingy. It's to raise money for the pediatric cancer ward there. Apparently it's this really huge philanthropy. Anyhow, I figured if ever there was a day to get out of town tomorrow was it and this gave me a good excuse for not being here," Rory explained.

"Ooh, Hershey, bring me back some chocolate."

"Will do," Rory promised.

"That sounds like a really interesting story, by the way. Although there could be an entirely different interesting story if you _did _come into work tomorrow," Sue flashed her friend an evil smile.

"I'm glad you're finding my misery so entertaining."

"Yes, well I also find Steven King's _Misery _entertaining so it must just be a weird quirk of mine," Sue shrugged her shoulders.

"Well if I had to choose between Kathy Bates smashing my legs and Mitchum Huntzberger smashing my spirit, I'd take Kathy Bates- thank you very much."

"Ouch," Sue winced. "That bad, huh?"

"Yup," Rory nodded. "Anyhow I should be going, Jess and I are going to see a movie tonight. Something really cheesy and extra mockable to distract me."

"Alright, have fun at your movie I'll see you Friday and I'll be ready with all the details," Sue promised as she turned and bounced back to her desk.

"Hi, I'm Logan Huntzberger. I have a meeting with Mr. Frank Croftry at 10," Logan informed the receptionist at the Liberty Herald.

"Yes, Mr. Huntzberger. Mr. Croftry is expecting you. One moment, I'll let him know you've arrived," the receptionist gave Logan a warm smile.

A few moments later a slightly balding man in his forties came out from an office and walked up to Logan. "Mr. Huntzberger, so very nice to meet you. It's an honor that your company is interested in our little paper." Frank gave Logan a sincere smile and offered him his hand.

"Yes well, your paper may be little but we at Huntzberger Publishing Group see big potential. And by the way, please call me Logan. I never was big fan of formality." Logan said, shaking Frank's hand.

"Well Logan, I'm Frank and this," Frank motioned to the room around him, "Is the Liberty Herald."

"Yes, there's no mistaking the hustle and bustle of a newsroom," Logan gave a small smile.

"Why don't we talk first? I can tell you a little bit about the paper and then I can give you a tour of the office. We have a great staff here and I'd love to introduce you to some of them."

"That sounds like a fine idea, Frank. Lead the way."

Frank led Logan to his office. Half an hour later the meeting was finally over and Logan breathed a sigh of relief as they walked back into the newsroom. Frank was a perfectly nice guy but Logan always found business dryer than the Sahara.

"Now for a little tour." Frank led Logan around the news room, stopping to talk to various staff members along the way. Everyone was very pleasant but Logan still found himself trying unsuccessfully to stifle his yawns. After a few minutes Logan spotted the open break room near by and found himself desperately craving some coffee to keep awake.

"I don't suppose I could bother you for a cup of coffee, Frank?" Logan asked.

"Oh, yes of course. How very rude of me to not offer you anything. My sincerest apologies. Please, follow me." Frank led Logan to the break room.

Sue looked up as Frank led a blond man into the break room. Her curiosity was piqued. The man with Frank was certainly not Mitchum Huntzberger. The miracles of plastic surgery were many but she highly doubted any surgeon in the world for any amount of money could give a 50 year old man _that_ body. Sue's lips curled up into a mischievous grin as she decided that her coffee was in serious need of a refill.

Sue chugged her almost half full cup of luke warm coffee and stood up. As she walked into the break room she saw Frank and his guest adding milk and sugar to their coffees. "Good morning Frank," Sue greeted.

"Oh Sue, good morning," Frank turned around to face the red head.

"Logan, this is Sue Hanley. She covers the health and medicine beat. Sue, this is Logan Huntzberger."

"_Logan_ Huntzberger." Sue said, raising her eyebrows. That was certainly interesting. "How very nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too." Logan said, offering her his hand. He found her greeting weird. He'd often heard people emphasize his last name when he was introduced to them but she had emphasized his _first_ name.

"So, _Logan_. What do you want with our little newspaper?" Sue asked him as she filled her coffee cup.

"Well, my father's company is very impressed with the Liberty Herald. He sees a lot of potential here and I'm just here to check it out." He once again noticed the way she had said his name. It confused him. Was she trying to hit on him? She was definitely cute but a little strange, and much more Finn's type than his.

"You're _father's_ company? You're father is a big man in the newspaper business. I supposed we should be honored that he's showing so much interest in us." Hmm, Huntzberger Jr.- very interesting indeed.

"Yes well, you guys put out a quality product. You should be proud of that," Logan responded.

"We are. Thank you. Well, it was nice meeting you Logan but I should be getting back to work," Sue smiled brightly as she left the break room. She realized that she had probably sounded like a vapid bimbo, hitting on Logan because of his father's wealth and power but she didn't care. This was a very interesting revelation; she finally knew what Rory had meant the other day when she had said "Huntzberger_s_" emphasis on the "s" Now just a little more digging and she'd find out exactly what had happened between Rory and the younger Huntzberger.

"Well Logan," Frank said once Sue had left the room. "You ready to continue our tour?"

"Yup, I've got my coffee. I'm good to go," Logan replied, quickly forgetting Sue's strange behavior.

The two men walked back into the newsroom. As they walked across the room Logan looked around. Off to his left there was an empty desk. There were a few knick-knacks on it but no pictures or name plate. Something on the desk caught his eye.

"Hey Frank," he stopped walking. Frank turned to look at him. "Anybody work at that desk over there?" he asked.

"Oh yes, but she's out on assignment today." Logan found himself walking towards the desk and Frank followed him. "She's really a very talented writer, relatively new though. She worked as an intern for us last summer and she showed so much promise that we wasted no time in hiring her back the second she graduated school."

Logan had reached the desk and he picked up the item that had caught his eye in the first place. It was a small, tin knight. It couldn't possibly be. Not here, not after all this time. "What's her name, I'd like to read some of her work, see if she's as talented as you say." Logan heard himself speaking but it sounded like someone else was saying it.

"Rory Gilmore. I can show you some of her articles if you'd like," Frank offered.

"Sure," Logan said automatically, his brain was no longer connected to his mouth, his mind was completely lost to thoughts of Rory. What were the chances that he'd come several states away from home and walk right back into her world? And why wasn't she at work today? Frank had said she was on assignment. Had she known he was coming? Had she stayed away from the office on purpose? Did she hate him for the way things had ended? Was that why she didn't want to see him?

"Logan?" he heard Frank's voice and he came back from his thoughts.

"Oh, sorry Frank," he said.

"Are you feeling alright?" Frank asked. "You looked a little woozy there for a minute."

"Oh, just a headache. Nothing a couple of Asprin and some caffeine won't help." Logan lied.

"Yes well, I'll let you go than. I've pretty much showed you everything there is to see."

"Thank you. You have a very impressive operation going on here for a paper of your size. I'll be in contact with you soon. I'll probably want to set up another meeting after I've seen the other papers we're considering. It's been a pleasure," Logan managed to rattle off the words.

"I look forward to hearing from you again. Now go take care of that headache."

Logan shook Frank's hand and left. His thoughts back on Rory. He didn't know what he was going to do. He wasn't sure he'd be able to stop thinking about her. He would have to see her, that was all there was too it.

Rory walked into work the next day to find Sue already there, standing by her desk.

"You've got flowers," Sue informed her friend pointing to a vase filled with one dozen, perfect, red roses.

"I see that," Rory said, her face lighting up. "What's the card say?"

"How should I know? That's private," Sue said, pretending to be insulted.

"What's the card say?" Rory asked again, sitting at her desk.

Sue laughed. "You know me too well. It says 'Meet me for lunch at the Calypso Café. Today, 1 PM.'"

"Hmm, I wonder why Jess wants to meet for lunch. And the Café is pretty far out of his way."

"Maybe he doesn't," Sue said cryptically.

"Huh?"

"Maybe they're not from Jess. There's no name on the card after all," Sue showed Rory the unsigned card.

"Oh yes, in that case they must be from my secret lover Pierre," Rory rolled her eyes. "Of course they're from Jess."

"So then, what's the occasion?" Sue asked.

"There's no occasion; not that I know of anyhow."

"Oh, well I've never seen Jess send you flowers before so I figured there must be some kind of occasion."

Rory narrowed her eyes. "You're acting weird."

"I am weird."

"Weirder than usual."

"Am I?" Sue shrugged her shoulders.

"Is this some kind of practical joke?" Rory asked. "Did _you_ send me the flowers or something?"

"Flower's are expensive. I wouldn't waste that kind of money just to mess with you," Sue said matter-of-factly.

"Well then, if you didn't send me the flowers as a joke than Jess must have sent them."

"You're sure about that?"

"Who else would send me flowers?" Rory asked getting frustrated with her friend.

"I don't know, maybe the hunky blond that was in here with Frank yesterday. I think he said his name was Logan."

Rory's eyes went wide with disbelief. Logan had been _here_? She had thought Mitchum was coming. "Logan?"

"Wanna fill me in?" Sue asked.

"Logan was _here_?" was all Rory could say in response.

"OK, I get the feeling that I'm going to have to be sitting for this conversation." Sue pulled a chair up from the next desk.

Rory said nothing for a moment and then her eyes went even wider then they already were. "How did he know?" she asked, her voice panicked.

"Know what?"

"If he sent me the flowers then he somehow found out I work here even though I took everything incriminating off my desk."

Sue shrugged. "Maybe Frank mentioned you."

"Oh no!"

"What"

"Oh no!" Rory repeated

"'Oh no' what?"

"Fred," was Rory's answer

Sue was confused. "Fred?"

"Fred," Rory said again, this time picking up the tiny suit of armor on her desk.

"Your knight in shinning armor?" Sue asked.

"_He_ gave me this," Rory told Sue. "He had a full sized one in his apartment at school and I thought it was funny so I named him Alfred. It was a thing."

"He had a suit of armor in his apartment at college?" Sue asked in disbelief.

"Not the point," Rory told her.

"Sorry, but really, a suit of armor?"

"Hello, friend having a crisis over here," Rory sighed painfully.

"Right, continue."

"So he gave this to me, it's a replica of Alfred; I call him Fred."

"And you still have him," Sue said in an insightful tone. "And you keep it here, at work. Here where Jess won't see it."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm not _saying_ anything Rory; I'm asking. What's the deal with Logan?"

"What do you mean 'what's the deal?' We were dating and then we weren't" Rory told her.

"And it ended badly?"

"When Jess came to see me- with his book….Logan was out of town but he got back early. Jess and I were going to go out to eat when Logan showed up. We all went together but Logan was acting like such as asshole."

"Well, yeah."

"We got into a huge fight. He left and I guess he decided it was over but he didn't tell me. I found out from his _sister_. I haven't spoken to him since," Rory finished

"Oh honey, I'm sorry."

"Me too."

"Do you still love him?" Sue asked.

"I love Jess," Rory answered.

"That's not what I asked."

"I don't know. Maybe," Rory admitted.

"So are you going to go?" Sue asked.

"Go where?"

"To lunch?"

Rory's heart leapt at the thought of seeing Logan again. It had been so long but she'd never stopped thinking about him. She had been angry with him for quite a while but that had eventually faded and left her with sadness in its place. How could he leave her like he did? How could he have walked out on her without looking back? She had thought he loved her, though he'd never gotten around to saying the words. A part of her wanted to know the answers to these questions and a part of her just wanted to see him again.

She wanted to go to lunch so badly. But it wasn't that simple. There was Jess to consider. Sue had asked her if she still loved Logan and she had said maybe. There was no maybe about it. She still loved Logan but she loved Jess as well. If she went to lunch and saw Logan, there were two possible outcomes: Either she would find out that he didn't love her and never had or she would find out that he _had_ loved her and still thought about her. The first outcome would break her heart and the second meant she would have to break someone else's heart.

"Well," Sue asked.

"I don't know."


	6. It's a Date

Rory stood outside the restaurant. The moment of truth had come. She had changed her mind about this lunch at least a dozen times that morning and even now she was considering a change in plans. Part of her wanted to run away, to run to the safe arms of Jess, where she knew she wouldn't get hurt; but another part, a much bigger part, was doing back flips at the thought of seeing Logan again.

Rory fingered the ring on her left hand. Jess had given her that ring, he had given her that ring and told her how she'd changed his life. He didn't deserve this. _He_ didn't deserve this, but what did she deserve? She deserved to know what had gone wrong. She deserved to know why Logan had deserted her. She deserved to know how he had felt about her. Mostly though, she just wanted to see him again, to hell with right or wrong.

Rory fingered the ring on her left hand and slowly slipped it off. Grabbing her coin purse, she placed the ring inside before opening the door to the Café and walking in.

Her eyes scanned the restaurant, looking for him. Off to the left she spotted his tousled blond hair. He had his back to her but she had no doubt in her mind that it was him. She felt her chest go still for a moment; no heart beat, no breath. It was as though she really _had_ died and gone to heaven. He was here. She finally let her breath out. Standing up tall to convey confidence she did not have, Rory strode towards the table.

"Hey there stranger," she slid into the booth opposite Logan.

He looked up, startled by the sound of her voice. He had been expecting her but he had not been prepared. He found himself taken aback by her. She was even more beautiful than he had remembered though, he wasn't sure how that could be. It was hard to speak, hard to breath, and the butterflies in his stomach were doing a jig.

"You don't seem surprised to see me," he said, attempting to sound casual.

"A little birdie told me you were in town," she smiled at him.

Logan's mind quickly flashed back to the previous day. The red head's strange actions in the break room suddenly made sense. "A birdie, huh? Did this birdie have red hair?"

"Perhaps."

"That makes sense."

"What does?" she asked him.

"Oh your friend's just a little weird, that's all," he smirked at her, that sexy smirk that bordered on indecent. Rory felt her insides turning to jell-o but she was determined to act nonchalant.

"This from the man who befriended Finn," she smiled coyly and he couldn't help the tingly feeling he got.

"You've got me there," he freely admitted. "Hey maybe we could set those two crazy kids up."

"Not a chance Huntzberger," she warned. "She's taken."

"Shame, she seemed like exactly his type."

"You mean because she has boobs and red hair?" Rory asked, raising her eye brows in a knowing manner.

"That about sums it up."

The first awkward silence hit and Rory shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "So, umm…How _are_ Colin and Finn?" she asked after a few moments.

"They're good," he answered. "I hardly ever get to see them anymore, even after I moved back from London, but we still talk all the time."

"London?" Rory asked. "You moved to London?"

Logan sighed. He'd forgotten she didn't know he went to London. It really had been a long time. "Yeah, my father made me go work at one of our papers over there after graduation for a year. I just got back a little over a month ago.

"Wow, that sounds like fun," Rory told him. She couldn't believe he'd moved out of the country and she'd never even known about it.

"Hah!" Logan laughed. "There's nothing fun about working for my father, Ace, you know that."

Rory sat frozen to her seat. He'd called her Ace. She hadn't heard that in two years and he spoke the word as though it were an everyday occurrence. She felt the world she'd built for herself falling to pieces around her. All the progress she'd made, her relationship with Jess, all of it. It hadn't been perfect but it had been enough and now Logan was here to shake everything up.

Rory didn't have any idea how to respond and she breathed a sigh of relief as the waitress approached the table, affording her extra time to calm her nerves. "Are you ready to order?" she asked them.

"Oh, I umm…I haven't really looked at the menu yet," Rory opened the menu hastily.

"That's OK Ace, take your time. I'm not in any rush." He said it again and she looked up at him. How could this be so easy for him? How could he be acting so calmly, as though having lunch with her were the most natural thing in the world?

"No, that's OK," she said. "I'll just take a cheeseburger and fries."

"And plenty of coffee," Logan gave Rory a knowing look and then turned to the waitress. "And I'll have the same as the lady." He smirked and Rory's stomach turned around.

"Thanks," she managed to say to the waitress as she turned in her menu, her eyes still on Logan.

"So, London was a bust than?" she asked, returning to their conversation.

"Just the work part…and the food. I had a really nice apartment that I got to spend a grand total of about six hours a day in; of course I was pretty much sleeping for all of that," he explained.

"So not much free time to enjoy the tea and scones and learn how to bend it like Beckham?" Rory asked playfully.

"Nah, but that's OK, I was already able to bend it with the best of them," he gave her his signature smirk again.

"Oh you were pretty bendy alright," Rory said without thinking. She immediately began to blush. She couldn't engage in this kind of talk with him anymore; the sex talk was supposed to be reserved for Jess.

Logan felt his composure starting to melt away at the implication of sex. He wanted to hop over the table and get "bendy" right there in the Café. He pushed the thoughts away and forced himself to remain calm. Logan smiled at Rory in response to her comment before changing the conversation to a less stimulating topic. "So how'd you wind up in Philadelphia?" he asked her.

"I got offered a job, I took it," she said simply, avoiding the topic of Jess.

"I just figured you'd have looked for a job closer to home so you could be near your family."

"Philadelphia isn't very far away, only a few hours drive. How about you?" she asked, trying to steer the conversation away from her own life.

"What about me?" he asked.

"Why Philadelphia? Why aren't you trying to buy up all the papers in New York or Boston?"

The waitress returned with their lunches and Logan politely thanked her before turning back to Rory. "Who knows? I go where ever Daddy dearest sends me."

"So how long are you going to be here for?" she asked.

"I don't know, hopefully a good long while. I'm _really_ liking Philly so far," he told her, making it perfectly clear that _she_ was the reason he liked it here.

Rory bit into one of her fries to give herself time to process the information. He was going to be here indefinitely; there was no escaping him or her feelings for him. There was no hoping that this would just go away and she could go back to Jess pretending it had never happened. Rory swallowed her food. "So are you definitely going to buy The Liberty?" she was afraid that either answer would upset her but she had to know.

"There are four other papers my Dad's got me looking at. Although your paper clearly has _excellent_ taste in writers so that's a big check in the plus column."

Rory took another bite of food, trying to figure out what she wanted. Did she want Logan to buy the Liberty Herald or not? Did she want to work with him, to see him everyday? No, that was the wrong question; of course she _wanted_ to see him. The question was could she? Could she work by his side on a daily basis knowing she still had feelings for him and then go home to Jess and pretend he was the only one for her?

"Logan…" she said, swallowing hard.

"Yeah, Ace?" he looked straight at her, trying to read what was going on inside her head but he couldn't.

"Don't."

"Don't what?" he asked.

"Don't buy the Liberty Herald," she told him.

Logan felt his heart sink down to his stomach. She didn't want him back in her life.

"Listen, Rory, I know things between us ended kind of badly and I'm really sorry about that," Logan told her.

"It's OK Logan, I'm not mad at you. I was, but I forgave you a long time ago."

"So then what's the problem?"

She knew she needed to tell him about Jess, she knew he needed to know, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. "Come on Logan, you and I both know it would just be too awkward," was her only response.

"I don't want things to be awkward. I miss you, Ace."

"I miss you to," she told him sadly. "But that doesn't change what happened. You walked away from me two years ago, Logan. _You_ walked away and I never even knew why."

"You're right. I just left with out explaining myself. So, let me do it now. I know it's probably too little too late but I owe it to you."

"You don't owe me anything Logan," she told him but she really did want to know.

"Yes I do," Logan paused for a moment. "Rory, the reason I ended things with us was…was because I loved you."

Rory was so stunned that she swallowed the bolus of half chewed food in her mouth and began choking. She had thought it was possible that he had loved her but hearing him say it after all this time was shocking. Besides, if anything she'd figured he'd broken up with her in spite of that, not _because_ of it. This didn't make any sense.

"Rory, are you OK?" Logan asked, concerned by her coughing fit and bright red face.

The coughing finally slowed and she shook her head to indicate she was alright. "You _WHAT_?" she said disbelievingly, once the coughing had stopped for good.

"I know, it sounds ridiculous but it's the truth."

"What….how…why?" Rory stuttered.

"When I was in Omaha, that's when my Dad told me I had to go to London for a year. And then I came home and I saw you with that guy. That's when I realized I was in love with you. I was in love with you long before that, but that's when I knew. I knew I couldn't possibly be as hurt and jealous as I was if I didn't love you. And that scared me so much because I was going to have to leave. I guess…I guess I figured it would be easier to leave sooner rather than spending another six months falling even more in love and _then_ having to leave. But it was a mistake Rory, and I'm sorry."

Rory sat there in silence, not sure how to respond. He _had _been in love with her. And he said he'd made a mistake by leaving her. Did that mean that he wished he hadn't left her? Did that mean he wished they were still together? Did he still love her? Did he want a second chance? This couldn't be happening, she couldn't sit there and listen to him say these things. It was hard enough trying to control her feelings before he'd professed his own, now it was nearly down right impossible.

"I should get back to work," Rory said tersely, standing up from the table and beginning to walk away.

"Ace, wait!" he grabbed her wrist. She stopped and turned at the sound of her nickname; she couldn't resist.

"It's just too much Logan. I shouldn't have come here, it's just too much," she said, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Don't say that Rory please. Please just tell me we're alright."

"I'm not mad at you Logan, if that's what you mean. This is all just…so overwhelming. I don't think I can do this."

"I'll make you a deal," Logan stood up to meet her eye. "I'll promise to make sure the company buys one of the other papers if _you_ promise to go to dinner with me." She had to say yes, this was his second chance and it was slipping away from him. He couldn't let that happen, she _had_ to say yes. "C'mon Ace, just one dinner. Otherwise you might be stuck with me for good."

Rory sighed deeply. He was staring straight at her giving her his puppy dog eyes. He was practically pleading with her and it broke her heart. How could she say no? "Lunch," she told him. "You can have another lunch."

"Alright then," he said, smiling brightly, "it's a date."

"A date," Rory whispered softly to herself. She was engaged to be married and she'd just made a date with another man. What had she gotten herself into?


	7. She Said, He Said

"Thought you might need this." Sue handed Rory a steaming cup of coffee as she entered the newsroom. "I was gonna Irish it up for you but I figured some people might find that a little unprofessional."

"Thanks," Rory said softly, taking the cup from Sue.

"Oh no, there's been crying," Sue pointed to Rory's red, puffy eyes. "What'd he do? Am I going to have to kill him? Or maim him? I don't know him too well but I bet he's kind of fond of those pretty boy looks of his; a good maiming could really do the trick."

"No, Sue, it's fine. No maiming," Rory said flatly. She went to sit at her desk but Sue stopped her.

"I don't think so Gilmore, you're not going back to work until you tell me what happened…Come on, let's go." Sue pulled Rory to the elevator.

"Where are you taking me to talk?" Rory asked on the way down.

"Just outside."

"So hundreds of strangers can hear my business?" Rory asked.

"You're not in Stars Hollow anymore, kid. This is the big city, no one out there cares about your business unless you're name is Angelina Jolie or Paris Hilton," Sue told her stepping out of the elevator and leading her to the bench outside. "Now what happened at lunch?" Sue asked, sitting down.

"Well it started off great. A little awkward but that was expected. His father apparently sent him to London for the last year and he just got back and then his father sent him here…indefinitely."

"So if he buys The Liberty he'll pretty much be around for good?" Sue asked.

"Exactly," Rory replied and Sue nodded in understanding. "I asked him not to buy the paper," Rory added after a few moments.

"What'd he say?" the red head prompted.

"He apologized for the way things ended and he said he didn't want things with us to be awkward," Rory continued.

"Well that's good."

"Then he explained why he broke up with me," Rory looked up at Sue, tears once again pooling at the margin of her eyes.

"Oh no, what was his reasoning?" Sue asked, suspiciously.

"He said he'd loved me. _That's_ why he broke up with me. He realized he loved me and I guess it scared him," the tears were rolling down Rory's cheeks now.

"Ouch."

"He's never said that before Sue. When we were together, he never told me he loved me. I said it to him once and he told me he didn't want to say it back until he was sure."

"So he told you he loved you for the first time?" Sue asked incredulously. Rory nodded in response. "Did he say anything else?" Sue asked.

"He said that breaking up with me was a mistake."

"Well I figured he didn't send the roses as a consolation prize. So then, how'd he take the news about Jess?"

Rory shifted her eyes away guiltily. "Jess kind of didn't come up," she said.

"What do you mean he 'didn't come up'?" Sue asked suspiciously. "How could he not come up? You've got a big honking….Oh no! Rory tell me you didn't."

Rory lifted her still bare, left hand up to show Sue. "Oh honey, this is worse than I thought." Sue said, chewing on her lip. "What are we going to do with you?"

"It gets worse…" Rory told her friend.

"Worse than you lying about being single and him telling you he loves you for the first time?" Sue asked, wide eyed. She could only imagine what her friend was going to say next.

"I told him I'd go to lunch with him again."

"So he was in love with you, most likely still is and he thinks you're single _and_ you agreed to go on a date with him…Please tell me that's it, I don't think my brain can handle anymore," Sue said.

"You're brain? What about _my_ brain?" Rory asked.

"You mean your heart?" Sue corrected.

"Yeah, that too."

"So you _do_ still love him then?" Rory nodded her head to answer her friend's question. "What about Jess?" Sue asked.

"I love him too." Rory said, burying her head in her hands. "What am I going to do Sue?"

"Honey, if I had answers to those kinds of love problems I could make a fortune off the book…Tell you what…tomorrow night, girl's night. Out on the town. Just the two of us. No men...unless they're buying us drinks. Maybe it'll help clear your head."

Rory smiled slightly at her friend. As messed up and confused as she was, it was good to know that there was someone out there who would support her. "Girl's night sounds good. Thanks Sue."

"Hey little bro!" Honor said, answering her cell phone. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"You're a woman," he said

"Word on the block is. Why? What's up?"

"I need some advice…in the romance department."

"Mr. Casanova is asking for love advice?" Honor asked mockingly.

"This is serious Honor," he told her, his voice indicating that he wasn't lying.

"So there's a new girl in Logan Huntzberger's life?" Honor pried.

"Not exactly," he said.

"So you're asking for some serious love advice but there's no girl?" Honor was confused

"I didn't say there wasn't a girl; I said there wasn't a _new_ girl."

"So you finally got to meet Alyssa Milano?" Honor teased.

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" he asked.

"Probably not," she admitted.

"I had lunch with Rory today," he told her after a few seconds of silence.

"Rory? Rory Gilmore? You had lunch with Rory and you didn't tell me," Honor said, slightly offended at not being in the know.

"I'm telling you now," he rolled his eyes at Honor's dramatics, though she couldn't see him.

"Yes, after the fact. You must have had the plans before and _I_ didn't know about it," Honor said defensively.

"So do you want to hear about it now or do you just want to complain?" he asked, knowing that would shut his sister up.

"Alright, spill."

"So apparently she works at one of the papers Dad has me looking at. I had a meeting there yesterday and she was out on assignment but I recognized something on her desk that I had given her," he started.

"Ooh, she kept something of yours, and she kept it somewhere she would see it. That's a good sign, little brother."

"You think so?" he asked hopefully

"I know so. That's why you called _me_. I know this kind of stuff."

"Well then, it was very smart of me to call you."

"Yes, bully for you. Now on with the story," Honor prodded.

"OK, so I sent flowers to her office this morning and invited her to lunch."

"And she showed up, another good sign."

"I already figured that one out. I mean, I didn't sign my name on the card but she knew it was me before she showed up so..."

"Well Rory always was a smart cookie, wasn't she?" Honor offered.

"She most certainly was," he said, smiling to himself.

"Alright, so tell me about the lunch already."

"It started off alright. I was really nervous but I managed to keep my cool, I think. I could tell that she was nervous too but she also did a pretty good job of hiding it. God Honor, she was everything I remembered and more; her coy little smile and hypnotizing blue eyes, the way she blushes when she says something inappropriate, the way she smells of coffee and lavender…God I missed her."

"So Logan Huntzberger _does_ have a sensitive side. It's very endearing and just a little bit wussy," she told her brother.

"Don't mock me, or no more gossip for you," he warned.

"Fine, fine, continue…"

"After a little while things started to get a bit more…intense."

"Intense? Not there in the restaurant I hope, I don't need another reason to have to bail you out of jail," Honor said playfully.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Honor. I meant the conversation," he sighed audibly.

"You're testy today," she commented.

"Well than stop interrupting me unless you've got something useful to say."

"That's no fun," she said but let him continue.

"She asked me not to buy the paper she works for. I was afraid she was still mad at me or something but she said she wasn't mad anymore. She said she just thought it would be too 'awkward'," he paused to give Honor a chance to analyze this bit of information but she said nothing. "Well…" he prodded.

"I thought I wasn't supposed to say anything," she said, feigning innocence.

"You're not supposed to say anything that isn't useful, but this is the part where your expertise is needed."

"Ok well, 'awkward' could mean a couple of things. She says she's not still mad at you for the way things ended and she did show up to lunch so we'll rule that out. She could just be worried about her co-workers and how they'll perceive things or she's afraid of having to answer a lot of questions about you two. Or she could still have feelings and she's afraid to let herself fall for you again. Did she say anything else?" Honor offered her two cents.

"Well then _I_ told her that I didn't want things to be awkward between us and that I owed her an explanation for why I left, even though it was probably too little, too late."

"What _was_ your reasoning again?" Honor asked.

"I told her that I'd realized I was in love with her and I was scared because I'd just found out I was going to have to move to London and so that's why I ran," he said all in one breath.

"You told her you loved her? You see her for the first time in two years and you profess your love? What were you thinking? Are you insane?" Honor practically screamed.

"She deserved to know," he said defensively.

"Not right away she didn't," Honor said, exasperated with her little brother. "I can only imagine how she took that kind of news. So come on, how _did_ she take it?"

"She got up and started to walk away."

"I knew it. You scared her away."

"I stopped her and she turned around and told me that it was all too much for her. But I couldn't just let her walk away so I made her a promise. I told her that I wouldn't buy her paper if she would see me again and she agreed to another lunch. That's it. So what do you think?" he asked after finishing his recap.

"I think you're an idiot."

"Thanks."

"You came on _way_ too strong…but in the end she stuck around. I think that's a good sign."

"Really?" he asked, smiling.

"Really. But you need to back off a little. No more declarations of undying love; no more begging for dates. You hurt her, Logan and it probably took her a while to get past that and start moving on. She's probably afraid of moving backwards."

"So then, what _should_ I do?" he asked.

"You need to make your presence known, but not too strongly. This way she has some time to get comfortable with the situation. It's a balancing act Logan. If you push too much she could run the other way but if you lay too low she may not have the chance to remember what she's missing."

"So how do I know how much is too much?" he asked.

"You have to play it by ear, judge how well she's adjusting. I don't know what else to tell you, Logan."

"Yeah, well thanks, Honor," he told her. "I guess I should get going."

"Keep in touch, I want to know how it goes," she ordered.

"I will," he promised. "Bye."

"Toodles!" Honor said cheerfully.

Logan hung up the phone, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in. He let out a deep breath. The talk with Honor had been both calming and frightening at exactly the same time. She seemed to think he had a shot with Rory but it was going to be tough. He didn't know if he could find the right balance to win her back over. He had to though, failure wasn't an option. He was absolutely positive that Rory Gilmore was the girl for him.


	8. Girl's Night Out

"So where are you and Sue going again?" Jess asked his fiancé. 

"Just dinner than probably to a bar," she answered without looking at him. She was hobbling around the room in a black, knee length, chiffon skirt and a red, silk blouse with only one shoe on.

"Aren't you going to be cold in that?" he asked, sizing her up.

"I have a coat," she told him, continuing to move hastily around the room, her eyes looking everywhere but at him.

Jess stared at her for a few moments, taking in her darty movements and tense posture. "Is everything alright?" he asked.

"Rory stopped suddenly and looked up at Jess but avoided his eyes. "Umm, yeah. Why wouldn't it be?" she responded, then quickly took her eyes away from him again.

"You've just been acting a little weird all day and this 'girls night out' with Sue seems kind of sudden."

"Everything's fine," she replied tersely, once again beginning to roam around the room. "Have you seen my other pump?" she asked, changing the topic.

"No," he answered flatly, his eyes still following her every movement. "Rory," he said sternly after a few more moments, "Stop."

Rory stopped again but only for a moment. "I really have to find my shoe Jess. I'm supposed to meet Sue in ten minutes and it's going to take me twenty to get to Chow Mein's."

Jess couldn't help but notice that Rory's eyes continually failed to meet with his when she talked. "Did something happen at work or something?"

"I'm fine, work's fine, everything's fine Jess, except my bare foot," she told him unconvincingly.

"I don't like this," he said.

"Me going out with Sue?" she asked, getting down on her knees to look under the couch.

"No. You acting weird, avoiding me, not looking at me, not telling me what's going on," he said, his irritation clearly evident.

"I'm not avoiding you," she insisted, pulling the missing shoe out from under the couch and standing up. "I'm just trying to have a fun night out with a friend."

"Fine, if you say so," he said, clearly not believing her. "Have a nice time."

"Thanks," she said, pulling on her shoe. "Jess," she said, finally making eye contact.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"I love you, you know that right?" she told him.

"Yeah, of course, I love you too," he answered her back, his voice softening.

_I don't deserve you_ she thought to herself but instead she responded by walking up to him and giving him a quick kiss on the lips. "Don't wait up," she told him as she headed back towards the door.

"I won't," he promised as he watched her grab her coat and walk out the door.

* * *

"Hey sorry I'm late." Rory said, sitting down across from Sue. "Have you been waiting long?" 

"Just a couple of minutes. So what kept you? Were you and Jess reenacting your favorite scenes from _The Story of O?_" Sue asked scandalously.

"More like scenes from _Nancy Drew and the Case of the Missing Shoe._" Rory explained, pointing to her black pumps.

"Oh, that's not exciting," Sue said with exaggerated disappointment.

"Hasn't my life had enough excitement the past few days?" Rory asked.

"Well, I suppose. So, how's Jess taking all of this?" Sue asked.

"OK, mostly because I haven't told him anything yet," Rory replied, glancing at her friend and then opening her menu.

"Not even that HPG is thinking about buying the paper?"

"Nope, but he can tell something's wrong. I'm not great at hiding stuff," Rory admitted.

"No, you're definitely not," Sue told her friend. "So what about Logan?"

"What _about_ Logan?"

"Have you spoken to him yet?"

"No," Rory sighed.

"So Jess doesn't know about Logan and Logan doesn't know about Jess? This is quite the pickle you've gotten yourself into," Sue said.

"You're telling me," Rory looked up from the menu.

"I hate to state the obvious but you know you're going to have to tell them, right?"

"Well…" Rory started, looking away from her friend.

"Rory," Sue gave her friend a stern look.

"Well, Logan I definitely have to tell, I know that. I'm just not so sure about Jess," she reasoned.

"And what if Logan buys the paper. You don't think Jess would need to know that you're working for your ex?"

"Logan isn't going to buy the paper; he promised me. And telling Jess I had lunch with Logan will only hurt him," Rory said.

"Wow, you're an excellent rationalizer," Sue informed her friend.

"It's one of my many talents…I'm thinking about the Kung Pao Chicken, what are you getting?" Rory asked, trying to change the topic.

"Apparently I'm getting the run around, that's what I'm getting. You know we're not done with this conversation yet," Sue was determined not to let Rory off so easily.

"I figured as much but it was worth a try…Although I did think tonight was supposed to be about forgetting my problems not about beating them like a dead horse."

"Drinks at the bar are for forgetting, dinner is for me prying into your personal life," Sue said, mater-of-factly.

"Why am I friends with you again?" Rory asked, shaking her head slightly.

"Because I'm so darn pretty, " Sue said smiling.

"Ah yes, the basis for any long lasting friendship- appearances,"

"Darn tootin'" Sue agreed before continuing on. "So now, back on topic…When are you going to tell Logan?"

"I guess at our lunch," Rory answered.

"So you're still planning on going to lunch?" Sue asked, looking at her friend suspiciously.

"I have to."

"Oh you _have_ to. I see. I must have missed the gun being pointed at that pretty little head of yours."

"Logan and I made a deal…He wouldn't buy the Liberty if I had lunch with him. If I don't show up all bets are off." Rory reasoned with her best friend.

"Yes, and if you don't show up you also don't get to stare into those pretty brown eyes of his and picture the future you could have had," Sue said insightfully.

"I'm not going to be picturing our non-existent future," Rory said defensively.

"Fine, but you are going to stare into his eyes and imagine having sex with him."

"Yeah well…I picture having sex with Johnny Depp too but it doesn't mean I'm going to leave Jess and run off to France to be with him."

Sue sighed deeply, her eyes drifting to the ceiling. Rory gave her a knowing look. "You're picturing having sex with Johnny Depp aren't you," Rory asked.

"Maybe," Sue admitted. "But this isn't about me."

"I know, I know. I _will_ tell him, but don't you think I should do it in person?" Rory asked her friend.

"I guess...but no dilly dallying. It's the first thing you say to him when you get to the restaurant…And I think you're right…"

"Right about what?" Rory asked.

"Jess. He doesn't need to know, so long as you tell Logan and put and end to this…assuming that's what you want."

Rory sat thoughtfully for a moment. "It is. I love Jess, I'm going to marry him. I can't give that all up because of a guy I _used_ to know and love."

"You're sure?" Sue asked.

"It's the right decision. It's the smart decision. Jess and I are good for each other." Rory said but her heart wasn't really agreeing with her head.

"Ok than," Sue smiled. "Now that that's settled I'm thinking of the chicken and broccoli but of course I'll have to split that with your Kung Pao chicken and there should be plenty of egg rolls."

"Seriously? Chicken and brocolli? Brocolli is a vegetable; you know that's against the Gilmore code…."

* * *

Logan stood on the street looking up at the number on the building then down at the piece of paper he was holding. 2228 Chestnut Street. This was it, Rory's building; apartment 4B. 

It had only been a day and a half but he had to see her again. He knew Honor had said not to push too hard but she'd also said to make his presence known. He would just play it cool when he saw her. He could restrain himself, he could avoid the urge to take her right there in the doorway. He squinted his eyes shut and took a deep breath. He could do this.

He had it all planned out. He wouldn't go into the apartment; that would be too hard for him. He'd simply ask her out for coffee. If there was one thing Rory Gilmore was always in the mood for, it was coffee. Once they were in a public place he would be safe from himself.

Logan took another deep breath, willing himself to move. He had to see her again, he knew it was a risk; he knew it might be too much too soon but he _had_ to see her. He opened the door to the building and walked to the elevator. He pushed the button and his heart began to beat faster. He stepped onto the elevator and leaned against the wall. He tried to think straight, to push the vision of her blue eyes and shy smile out of his head. The elevator moved slowly yet seemed to reach the fourth floor in no time at all. This was it, there was no turning back, Logan walked up to the door and knocked.


	9. Water V Martini

Rory sat at the bar next to Sue, downing another martini. "These are good," she slurred her words together. 

"Yes, I doubt you'd have drank eight of them if they weren't" Sue sighed.

"I didn't have eight, I had…" Rory tried counting clumsily on her fingers for a few seconds before giving up. She waved her hand dismissively. "I don't know but it couldn't have been eight," she mumbled.

"Believe me, it was eight and we're going to make sure we don't make it any more than eight," Sue told her friend before turning to the bartender. "Why don't you switch her over to water? Please," the red head suggested and slipped the man a bill.

"You got it," he said, pocketing the tip. "One water, coming up."

"You're right, I should have water…water is good for you, it's definitely the smarter choice. Water is healthy, it builds strong bones…" Rory muttered.

"That's milk hun," Sue reminded her.

"Whatever, the point is that water is solid…you know, for a liquid. And water fits my personality. Water makes _sense_." Rory nodded her head drunkenly. "So what if martinis make you fell all warm inside? You drink the martini and it tastes good but then you wake up one day and the martini is gone because it loved you too much or because Daddy martini is sending it to London and then what? Huh? Then all your left with is an eye popping head ache and a nauseous feeling in the pit of your stomach," Rory continued with her rant.

The bartender placed a large glass of water in front of Rory, shaking his head slightly. "I made it a double," he said, raising his eyes knowingly at Sue. "I think she's gonna need it."

"Thanks," Sue told the bartender before turning back to Rory. "Drink," she ordered her friend, but Rory suddenly jumped up from her barstool.

"I _love_ this song," she said as the band began playing DHT's _Listen To Your Heart_

Sue sighed, maybe girl's night out was not such a good idea. "Drink the water first, then you can dance," she told her friend.

"Fine," Rory grabbed the water and chugged it, placing the glass back on the table. "Now we dance," she said gabbing her friend and pulling her to the dance floor.

"_Listen to your heart, when he's calling for you, listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do_," Rory sang along to the song.

After a few minutes on the dance floor Rory felt someone come up behind her and start dancing. She turned around to face a good-looking blond man in his mid twenties.

"Hi, I'm Mark," he yelled over the music. "Wanna dance?"

"No, I don't want to dance," she said snidely. "I didn't ask you to dance with me. You think you can just come waltzing up to me and just worm your way back into my life?" she asked angrily.

"Back into your life?" he replied, clearly confused.

"You think just because your good looking and charming you can just swoop in and…and swoop me off my feet?" she continued yelling at the man, her words slurred together.

"Huh? All I wanted was a dance," he told her.

"Suuuuure, you say all you want is a dance but then a dance turns into lunch and lunch turns into dinner and then you're telling me you love me and that you shouldn't have left me. Well did you ever think that maybe it's too late? Huh? Maybe I've moved on. You can't just come here and make me fall for you. Maybe I'm engaged…" Rory held up her left hand. "You ever think of that?" she asked.

"Listen, I'm sorry about my friend she's just a little…" Sue began to cut in.

"She's just a little crazy, that's what your friend is," Mark shot back. "You can tell her fiancé he's got himself a real winner," he said as he stormed off back into the crowd.

"OK, I think we've had enough for one night," Sue said, pulling Rory off the dance floor.

"But I'm having fun," Rory protested.

"Yes, too much fun by the looks of it. I think it's time you started having less fun and more sleep." Sue grabbed Rory's coat and handed it to her.

"But I don't want to go home," Rory complained, reluctantly taking the jacket. "I want another martini."

"Yes but we decided the martini was bad, remember. You want the water now and there's water waiting for you…at home." Sue reminded her friend.

"Oh, yeah. Water." Rory mumbled unhappily as Sue led her out of the bar and flagged down a taxi.

* * *

As the door to the apartment opened, Logan felt the butterflies in his stomach turn to fire breathing dragons, sending sharp pains though his abdomen and making his blood boil. 

_He_ wasn't supposed to be the one answering the door. He wasn't supposed to be in Rory's apartment. He wasn't supposed to be in Rory's life. It was true that Logan had not asked Rory if she was seeing anyone but he though the question had been implied by simple virtue of the circumstances.

Logan realized the smile that had been on his face a moment ago had been replaced by a somewhat sinister grin; he let it remain. He wasn't going to give this jerk standing before him the satisfaction of knowing he had been caught off his guard.

"Hi…Jess is it?" He asked offering his hand and knowing full well that Jess would not shake it.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember ordering any spoiled, rich, bastards," Jess said, folding his arms across his chest and glaring and Logan.

"Oh. Well than, it must have been your girlfriend," Logan shrugged his shoulders.

"Fiancée" Jess corrected.

The dragons in Logan's stomach tripled in size and all spit fire at once. It wasn't possible. She couldn't be engaged; engagements came with rings that women wore on their left hands. Logan had _definitely_ not seen a ring.

"Semantics," Logan replied snidely with a wave of his hand once he had recovered enough from the latest bit of news.

"What are you doing here?" Jess asked him, trying to keep his voice calm.

"I'm looking for Rory of course," Logan said mater-of-factly.

"She's not here, sorry you wasted you time," Jess unfolded his arms and brought his hand up to the door, preparing to close it on the other man.

Logan put his foot inside the threshold to stop Jess from shutting the door. He wasn't going to let him get away that easily. "That's alright," he told him, "I'll just see her at lunch next week."

Jess's stoic expression faded away to a look of shock and pain. It had only lasted a second before he had regained his composure but it had been there and Logan had seen it. Logan knew in that instant that he had caught Jess off guard and his snide grin grew a tad bit bigger. "Oh no. Did she forget to tell you that we have a lunch _date_ next week?" he paused for a moment after the word "date" for emphasis. "I guess she also forgot to mention that we had lunch yesterday as well," he added.

"She must have repressed the memory. I hear people's brains can do that after a particularly unpleasant event," Jess bit back.

Logan ignored Jess's remark. "I suppose she also left out the part where my company is thinking of buying her newspaper," Logan informed the other man.

"You mean your _father's_ company, the one you've done nothing to earn," Jess remarked.

"Maybe not, but I'm getting it anyway and the point is that I'll be the one overseeing the Liberty Herald. That means I'll be there _every_day, working side by side with Rory, sometimes _late_ into the night," Logan said, his voice thick with innuendo.

"Well, a job's a job but at the end of those long nights, she'll still be coming home to me," Jess retaliated. "She'll still be spending her life with me and sleeping in _my_ bed."

"Maybe," Logan replied, being sure to say it in a way that would place serious doubt in Jess's head.

"You need to leave now. Go find some gold digging little floozy to hop into bed with because Rory is with me now. You left her, and she moved on. She's with me now and we're happy. There's nothing you can do change that," Jess growled

"Maybe I did leave her and maybe she did move on. That didn't stop her from taking you back after you left without so much as a good bye, so I'd say history is on my side," Logan replied without missing a beat.

"Good-bye Logan," Jess shot a threatening look at the blond man.

Logan shrugged his shoulders; he'd had enough of this conversation anyhow. "Tell Rory I stopped by."

"Oh, I'll be _sure_ to do that," Jess said sarcastically as he shut the door on Logan.

Logan turned and walked back to the elevator, the anger quickly abating as the pain overtook him.


	10. And They All Come Tumbling Down

As the doors to the elevator shuttered out the view of apartment 4B, Logan braced himself against the wall. He felt weak and disoriented from the experience. Every good feeling he'd been having over the past few days had been ripped from him the instant he laid eyes on Jess. If it had been anybody else it would have been the worst moment of his life but it had been _him _and that had made it so much worse. He felt like he was reliving the day of his break up with Rory all over again only this time he'd started off so high that he was still falling. He wasn't sure how much longer before he landed but he knew it was going to hurt like hell. 

The elevator reached the ground floor and Logan tried to find the strength to move. He pushed himself off the wall and walked out into the lobby heading for the cold world outside, his head filled with the cruel truths. Rory had moved on. She had moved on to Jess. They were engaged. How long must they have been together for them to get engaged? And that night- had there been something going on between them after all? It was too much; it was all too much for him to think about.

Logan stepped into the street and began to hail down a cab but decided against it. He didn't want to go home. He didn't want to go back to his empty apartment and be alone. Logan decided just to walk; the cold air was soothing in its bitterness.

He walked along the streets, not really heading anywhere; he was so wrapped up in his own emotions that he didn't care where he ended up. He should have known better than to think that Rory would still be single, a girl like her could have anyone she wanted. She had won him over after all; she had caught the uncatchable Logan Huntzberger- playboy extraordinaire, and had turned him into a new man. Besides, he should have known better than to think that anything in his life would turn out the way he wanted it to. Logan wasn't lucky like that, at least not lately, not since his preordained life had caught up with him. People thought he was lucky, born into a life of wealth and privilege, but "money doesn't buy happiness" was a cliché for a reason. All the things that could make him happy were beyond his grasp. The things he really wanted in life weren't just bought and sold like a car or a plasma screen TV. The things that could make him happy- a settled life free from destiny and familial obligation, a job he loved and chose himself, the woman he loved- those things couldn't be bought. _Rory _couldn't be bought. Sure, there were plenty of women in this world who could be, he'd been with a lot of them, but he'd never loved any of them and he never would.

"Hey, move it!" someone yelled out, pushing past Logan. He looked up and realized he was waiting at a street corner for a light that had already changed. Glancing at the street sign he saw that he was nearly home. He wasn't ready to go home, he wasn't ready to lie in bed with thoughts of what he couldn't have. Logan searched the street around him and spotted what appeared to be a small dive bar across the way and down a little bit. _There's no problem too big to drown with alcohol_, he thought to himself- or so he hoped. He could hear the scotch calling his name. He headed towards the bar, hoping to find a little bit of numbness inside.

* * *

"Do you need help with that?" Sue asked as Rory fumbled with her keys. 

"No, they're just keys, I can still use keys!" Rory slurred. After a few more moments of futzing she finally managed to unlock the door. "See!" she said as she opened the door, "Voila," she held her hands up triumphantly.

Rory stepped into the apartment but stopped short after a few steps as she noticed a figure sitting in a chair across the way. "Hey, what are you still doing up?" she asked Jess.

"Waiting for you," he told her, his voice monotone.

"I told you not to wait up for me silly," she replied, her drunken state obvious. "And why are you waiting in the dark?" Rory flicked on the light.

He squinted in pain as the light hit his eyes but it only lasted for a second before his angry expression returned. "Are you drunk?" he asked his fiancée as she stumbled across the room towards him.

"Maybe a teensy-weensy bit," she said, grabbing the couch for support with one hand and holding the other hand up in a fist with her thumb and forefinger mere centimeters apart.

Sue was still standing in the doorway but she could see the look on Jess's face and hear the tone of his voice. She had a feeling he knew something and she didn't want to be around for the fallout. "I'm just gonna go," she said backing out of the doorway.

Jess looked up at her as though seeing her for the first time. "I think that's a good idea, Sue," he said. The red head walked the rest of the way out of the apartment, closing the door behind her.

"Sit!" Jess commanded Rory once Sue was gone. He pointed to the sofa she was leaning against. Rory sat and began clumsily trying to take off her shoes so that she wouldn't have to look at him.

"How much did you have to drink tonight?" he asked her, his voice icy.

"Just a few martinis," she said dismissively, pulling off her second shoe and looking up at him.

"A few?" he asked, glaring angrily at her.

"Yeah, or...eight," she admitted.

"Eight! Rory? Eight martinis?" his voice was firm but he was not yet yelling.

"Something like that," she said, playing innocent.

'This isn't like you, Rory," Jess told her, his voice soft again.

"I was just trying to have a some fun," she said, giving him a little pout.

"You only drink like this when something's bothering you," he said, bringing his hand to his forehead and rubbing his temple in frustration.

"That's not true," she said defiantly. "I got drunk like this on spring break that one time, you know when I kissed Paris," she said playfully, hoping to lighten the mood.

"This isn't spring break Rory, you're not _in _Florida with Paris and you're _not _in college anymore. It's October, this is Philadelphia and you're here with me, at least in theory anyhow. God, Rory! Why won't you talk to me?" He was yelling for the first time since she had walked through the door.

Tears she had been trying desperately to suppress began filling Rory's eyes. "Stop yelling at me," she pleaded. "Please, just stop."

Jess sighed audibly. "Are you going to tell me what's going on?" he asked her.

"No," she answered tearfully. "I'm sorry, I can't." Rory lowered her head shamefully, not wanting to look her fiancé in the eye.

Jess had hoped that Rory would admit to seeing Logan on her own but he was beginning to doubt it and it broke his heart. He'd always been able to trust Rory, even in the early days when she had been unable to trust him back. "Well than, let me," he replied.

Rory's head shot up. She knew he was angry, she knew he suspected something but did he know what it was? Could he have possibly found out?

"They're thinking of selling the Liberty Herald," he began, giving her one last chance to fill in the rest of the blanks.

"How...how did you know that?" she asked him, carefully trying to deconstruct the expression on his face to see if he knew _who_ the Liberty might be sold to.

"You had a visitor tonight," he said, his voice eerily calm.

Heart wrenching fear gripped her. He couldn't have...he _wouldn't _have. But in her heart she knew that he did. "Who?" she asked, her voice tiny and feeble.

"Male. About yay tall," Jess began, holding his hand just above his head to indicate a height. "Blond hair. Personality less interesting than his trust fund," Jess spat out, frustrated that his fiancée was continuing to be so evasive.

"I'm sooooo sorry Jess. I'm sooo sooo sorry," she told him, the tears that had been building in her eyes began flowing freely. She pulled her knees up to her chest and gripped them tightly, attempting to make herself as small as she felt.

"I don't even know what to say about this Rory," he shook his head sadly.

"Jess please, I can explain," she pleaded with him.

"How? How can you explain this Rory? Please, explain lying to me; explain seeing your ex-boyfriend behind my back; explain making plans to see him _again!"_ he was yelling once more.

"I asked him not to buy the paper. At lunch yesterday, I asked him not to buy the paper. He said he wouldn't if I went to lunch with him again," she told Jess frantically, the half truths pouring out if her mouth easily as she had told them to herself so many times the past two days.

"He said he wasn't going to buy the paper?" Jess asked suspiciously.

"Yes," she nodded her head frantically.

"Because he seemed pretty interested in buying the paper to me," Jess told Rory.

"He was just trying to get to you Jess," she wept. "I swear, he promised me he wouldn't buy the paper if I went to lunch with him."

"I see," Jess said, sitting back in his chair.

"Please, you have to believe me. You believe me, don't you Jess?"

"I don't know Rory. I don't know what to believe right now," he told her honestly, his voice heavy and sad but no longer angry.

"But..." she began to speak again but Jess interrupted her.

"I think you should go to bed."

"Jess, please..." she begged.

"Just go to bed Rory. We'll finish this in the morning when you're less drunk and I'm less angry," he said, making it clear that the matter was not up for debate.

Rory's head dropped again as she released her knees and stood up. "Are you coming to bed too?" she asked hopefully, stealing a quick glimpse of his facial expression before looking down again.

"I think I'm just going to sleep in here tonight Rory," he told her.

"I understand," she said before turning and walking sadly towards the bedroom.


	11. The Morning After

Rory's mouth was dry and sticky. She tried opening and closing it a few times, licking her dried and cracking lips. She hadn't opened her eyes yet but she knew the pain that was awaiting her when she did. How could she possibly have drunk so much? Alcohol was definitely more foe than friend the morning after. She tossed and turned a few times before finally relenting and opening her eyes. The light shinning through the windows hit her retinas and she recoiled in pain. She turned over to look at the other side of the bed, it was empty and her heart sank a little. It had really happened, it hadn't just been a drunken hallucination. 

Rory rolled back over and reluctantly tossed her legs over the side of the bed. She was still wearing the clothes she had gone out in the previous night; she really had overdone it on the martinis. As she began standing up she noticed a bottle of water and a couple of Aspirin on the nightstand. She sat back down and grabbed the bottle. It was a good sign; it was thoughtful. It meant that he wasn't wishing the world's worst hangover on her. She opened the cap, popped the pills, and guzzled down the water, the soothing liquid easing her pain ever so slightly.

Finishing the water, she got up off the bed and plodded off to the bathroom. Looking up into the mirror she cringed at her appearance. Mascara and eyeliner were smeared all over her face, her eyes were puffy and red and her hair was disheveled. She couldn't face Jess looking like this; she needed to pull herself together first if she was to make a convincing argument. She pulled her hair off of her face and grabbed her toothbrush, trying to rid herself of the sticky feeling in her mouth. After washing the makeup off she turned around to the shower and started the water. Stripping off her clothes, she stepped in.

The warm water washed over her and she let out a small moan. Her muscles ached all over, partly from the crazy drunken dancing and partly from crying herself to sleep. She leaned back against the wall and let the water run over her. She felt new tears springing to her eyes and she didn't hold them back. The water flowing from her eyes mixed with the water flowing from the showerhead and Rory slowly collapsed onto the floor. She was sobbing and she pulled her knees in tight, rocking back and forth.

Everything was so messed up and she didn't know how she was going to fix it. She had something good going with Jess and it could all be over the second she walked out of the bathroom. And why? Because the mere thought of Logan drove her insane, made her stop using her judgment? Because Logan was good looking and charming and had that stupid smirk that made her mind and other parts of her hum? That wasn't love; it was lust. She had something with Jess. She had a relationship built on respect and understanding and trust. It had taken a long time to build that trust. They were still kids when they'd first met. They had both made mistakes but as adults they had worked passed it and built something strong, something she thought could last; and here she was screwing it up because of a man she hadn't seen in two years, because of a man she barely even knew anymore. Why could he get to her like this? Why could he make her feel the way he did? She remained on the floor for several minutes, waiting for the wave of tears to pass, before finally getting up and finishing her shower.

She dried herself off and wrapped her silk bathrobe around her. Slicking her damp hair back into a braid she looked into the mirror and reevaluated her appearance. Her eyes were still puffy from crying but that wasn't too bad, perhaps it would win her some sympathy points. She spent several minutes practicing faces in the mirror; her pouty "I'm too cute to hate" face, her stoic "Is something wrong?" face, her painful "my head's to achy to talk about this now" face and her regretful "I'm so sorry I hurt you" face. She knew it was pointless; when she was out there with Jess, face to face, seeing how much she'd hurt him with her lies, she'd have no control over her facial expressions, she'd probably lose all control of her facilities completely. She took one more look in the mirror, she was as put together as she was going to get and since she was probably going to fall apart again in a few minutes, there really wasn't any more point in procrastinating. She took a deep breath, _time to pay the piper_ she thought to herself as she opened the bathroom door and walked out through the bedroom to the living room beyond.

Jess was sitting in the same chair he'd been in last night. He was fully dressed and reading a book. Rory looked at him carefully from her spot across the room. "Morning," she said cautiously.

He put his book down and looked up at her. "Morning," he returned in a way that did not reveal his thoughts at all. There was silence for a few seconds before he spoke again. "I made some eggs."

Rory's stomach churned at the thought and she must have made a face that clearly conveyed her disgust of that particular food. "Yeah, I figured," Jess responded. "There's also a beef burrito and some mac and cheese," he said simply, nodding towards the kitchen.

Rory smiled, her favorite hangover foods, this had to be a good sign. "Mmm," she said as she began walking towards the island that separated the living room and kitchen. "Coffee?" she asked.

"No, you don't need any coffee," he said.

"I always need coffee," she disagreed. "I'll just make some myself."

"Rory!" he said sharply, but when he continued his voice was softer. "You can't avoid this with coffee and witty banter, you know."

"I know," she said, trying not to sound freaked. Maybe the water and Aspirin and hangover foods weren't as good a sign as she thought. "I'll just get the pot started and..."

"No. You don't need any coffee, not on the hangover you're nursing," his voice was unwavering.

"Well now you're just sounding like Luke," she said off handedly.

"Rory! Are you even listening to me at all?" he asked her, his voice full of frustration.

"Yes, of course its just..."she paused, not knowing how to end her sentence. She wasn't sure how she was going to get through these next few minutes, especially without a hearty dose of caffeine but it seemed she had no choice. She sighed. "Fine," she agreed, walking around the island back into the living room. As she walked towards Jess, the front door of the apartment was in full view and something in front of it made her stop short. "Jess..." she began, her eyes wide with fright. He didn't say anything. "Jess, what's that?" she raised her arm shakily and pointed towards the door.

"It's a bag,' he said simply.

"A _bag_? A _duffle _bag? _Your_ duffle bag?" she asked, the pitch of her voice going higher in her panic.

"Yes," he sighed, nodding his head slightly.

Rory felt her whole body shaking with fear, her breathing was punctuated and the tears were stinging at her eyes once more. She ran towards Jess, falling on her knees as she reached him. "Jess you can't. Please!" she sobbed. "You can't leave me Jess, you just can't. Please, nothing happened I _swear_," she looked up at him from her spot on the floor and she saw that his face was soft but sad.

"I know," he said softly, pushing away a tendril of her hair that was stuck to her tear streaked face. "I know, I believe you but..." he struggled to find just the words to say. "I'm not leaving you Rory, I'm just...leaving."

"I don't get it," she sniffled. "Are we...? Don't you...?" she stuttered, afraid to actually ask the questions that were starting to come out of her mouth.

"Of course I still love you," he said, answering her unasked question. He wiped the tears from her eyes. "But do you love me?"

"I..." she started but he didn't let her say it.

"I don't want an answer Rory. Don't just say it because you think it's what you should feel or because you think it's what I want to hear. I want you to think about it, _really _think about it. And I have to think about it too," he said. "That's why I'm leaving."

"No, I don't want to think about it. I love you Jess, and you may not believe me right now because you're mad or hurt or jealous or whatever, but it's true," she said, getting off her knees and standing up.

"Fine, then. Maybe I'm making a mistake. Maybe I'm taking this the wrong way. I guess I can understand why you had to see him. I guess I can understand why you didn't tell me. I can even understand you wanting to see him again. I don't like it, but I guess I can understand it," Jess reasoned. "But there's something I can't understand, Rory. Something that I can't explain. So if you can explain it to me, if you can prove I'm wrong and that you're not questioning your feelings towards me, than I'll stay."

"Fine, anything. Ask away," she said, filled with resolve. She _would_ answer his question. Rory sat down on the couch across from Jess so that she'd be eye level with him.

"Why did he come here?" he asked slowly.

Rory's eyes narrowed as she pondered the question. It didn't make any sense. She didn't understand but she answered anyway. "His father sent him."

"No Rory, not why did he come to Philly. Why did he come _here_, to our apartment?"

"That's not my fault Jess. I didn't invite him here; I didn't ask him to come. He said he wouldn't buy the paper if I went to lunch with him and I said yes to _that_, but I never told him to come to my apartment, I never even told him where I live," she said defensively. He couldn't possibly be leaving her because of _Logan's_ actions.

"But he came here anyway. He didn't call you, or go to the newspaper to see you; he came _here_. Why would he risk that Rory? Why would he risk running into me and not you?" he said, further explaining himself.

Realization slowly dawned on Rory. She understood his question now and she _didn't_ have a satisfactory answer. She couldn't prove him wrong and keep him from walking out the door. Her head dropped, slowly, shamefully.

"So you _didn't_ tell him about me," Jess said, his worst fear being confirmed. He had figured it out already but up until know there had been a small sliver of hope.

"I'm so sorry Jess, I don't know why I did it," she said, he voice wavering again.

"Well I suggest you figure that out," he stood up. Taking a few steps towards her, he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "I'll be at my old apartment, above the bookstore.

Rory watched wordlessly as he walked towards the door, picked up his bag, and left.

* * *

Logan woke up to the ringing of his phone. He leaned over to pick up the cell and rapidly silenced it. He looked at the name on the screen and let out a sigh. Rolling out of bed, he quickly made his way to the next room. 

"Fancy hearing from you," he said coldly as he flicked open his phone and collapsed on the sofa.

"You came to my apartment? How could you do this Logan? What gave you the right?" Rory screamed into the other end of the line, pacing back and forth in her apartment.

Logan held his phone away from his ear as she yelled, wincing at the piercing pain in his head, compliments of his good friend scotch on the rocks. "Well now, it isn't just _your_ apartment is it?" he said coldly and calmly.

"He left! He packed a bag and went to stay in that rat hole he used to live in with his old roommates. He's gone Logan, and it's all your fault. How could you do this?" There were tears streaming down Rory's face, Logan couldn't see them but he knew they were there. It broke his heart, partly because she was so upset and partly because she was so upset over another man. As sad as he was, his anger was greater.

"All _my_ fault. Are you serious? It's not like you gave me a reason_ not _to go see you. It's not like you said 'hey, by the way, if you're thinking of stopping by- don't, because I'm living with my ex-boyfriend and we're getting married.'" he said, his voice was growing louder by the moment.

"That doesn't give you the right to just come barging back into my life. It doesn't give you a right to mess everything up. Did you even stop and think?" Rory yelled, her voice shaky from the tears.

"As a matter of fact I have, Rory. I've thought a lot. If you want to know the truth, you're pretty much _all _I've thought about since I saw that goddamn knight on your goddamn desk last week. But apparently, I'm an idiot. Apparently only an idiot would think that anything that happened these past few days meant anything because as it turns out, you're engaged," he yelled back.

"I know, Logan. I was there when he proposed," she snapped.

"And this proposal you speak of, did he give you a ring or couldn't the poor starving artist afford anything that didn't come in a Cracker Jack box?" he spat back at her.

"Oh that's just typical, Logan. 'Poor starving artist' my ass. Just because he's not rich like you doesn't mean he's not important. He 's important to me and now he's gone and I don't even know if he's coming back."

"Well I can't exactly say I'd blame him if he didn't," Logan growled.

"What's that supposed to mean," she asked irately.

"It means you lied to him, Rory. You snuck around behind his back and hid things from him," his voice was shaking from the anger.

"Oh, I see, I lied to _him._" Rory stopped her pacing and sat down on the sofa and preparing herself for the rest of the conversation. "Why don't you say what you _really _mean, Logan? Come on, let me have it."

"How could you do this to me Rory?" he said, obliging her. "You let me sit there in that restaurant and make a complete fool out of myself. You let me sit there and tell you how I felt like it would actually make a difference. You let me practically _beg_ to see you again like I had a chance in hell."

"Oh yeah, the begging part was kind of fun," she said, giving a tiny, evil laugh.

"This isn't funny, Rory," he said angrily.

"I know it's not, but you're probably reveling in my misery here so I figured I'd make the feeling mutual," she said, her voice dark.

"Reveling in your misery? Do you really think that little of me?" he asked, honestly insulted.

"Oh please, you can't tell me that you're not the least bit happy that Jess walked out on me and might not come back," she said knowingly.

"Fine, you know what? I am happy. I hate that guy. I hated him the moment I saw you with him in your grandparents' driveway. I've hated him ever since. Every time I thought about you, about us, I thought about him and I _blamed _him. I mean, I always blamed myself but a part of me blamed him too. At least now I know I was right to."

"Oh please, Jess had nothing to do with our break up and you know it," she said.

"Nothing to do with our break up? So the fact that I caught you with your ex-boyfriend slash current fiancé on the night we broke up meant nothing?" he yelled but then his voice got lower. "God, I had almost convinced myself that I was over reacting, but I wasn't, was I? It was the same back then as it is now, only the roles are reversed," he ran his hands trough his hair in frustration.

"You're right, it was the same back then as it is now because back then there was _nothing_ going on with Jess and me just like right now there's nothing going on with the two of us."

"Please, you call this _nothing_. You really think you'd be calling me up to yell at me for something you brought upon yourself if this was nothing? Maybe you didn't technically cheat on me with Jess and maybe you didn't technically cheat on Jess with me, but a part of you wanted him back then and there's a _big _part of you that wants me right now," Logan said in that cocky tone he mastered so well.

Rory sighed, "Listen Logan, I'm sorry if you thought this could be something more than it is, but you and me- we ended a long time ago. I don't know what came over me when I hid that ring, maybe I was having a mini stroke or..."Rory was cut off by a voice on the other end of the line.

"Sorry to interrupt...whatever this is," Logan turned around to face a leggy blonde walking out of his room wearing nothing but his dress shirt, "but you wouldn't happen to have any coffee, would you?" she asked.

Logan slumped down in his seat and let out a defeated sigh. He pointed to the kitchen. "Cabinet above the stove," he told her reluctantly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was interrupting something," Rory said sarcastically.

"Ace," he said softly, resorting to her using her nickname in a desperate plea, but he knew it was hopeless.

"No, really, don't let me keep you. Go! Go back to your _whore_," she snarled at him.

"Did you _seriously_ just call her a whore? You don't even like to say 'hell', let alone calling someone a 'whore'," he asked, taken aback by her vicious words, but somewhere in the back of his mind he smiled to himself; she was jealous.

"You don't know me anymore Logan," she replied.

"Well that's painfully obvious. Heck, in a few more months I might not even know your last name anymore," he remarked bitterly.

"Good-bye, Logan." Rory hung up the phone without waiting for a response. The tears that had been present all conversation were still streaming down her cheeks but the sobs were only just starting up again. How many times could she cry before she ran out of tears? She pulled her knees up to her chest and lay down on the couch. It was over; it was all over. Jess was gone. He said he just needed time; that he wasn't leaving _her_ but the truth was as Logan had said, she _couldn't_ blame him if he didn't come back. And it was all for nothing. Logan had to hate her for what she'd done, and it seemed he was _already_ moving on. Here she was, in love with two men and yet she was completely alone.

* * *

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	12. Come Home

"Coffee'll just be a few minutes," the blonde girl said as she reemerged from the kitchen. 

"Great," Logan muttered.

"Somebody's grumpy this morning, trouble in paradise?" she asked as she sat down on the couch next to Logan and tucked her legs up underneath herself.

"Huh?" he asked tersely.

"The phone call...it sounded like a bit of a lover's spat. Was it my fault? Because girlfriends do tend to get a bit snippy when their boyfriends sleep with other women."

"She's not my girlfriend," he said bitterly.

"Ahh, ex-girlfriend," she said knowingly.

"What are you doing?" he looked at her curiously.

"Waiting for the coffee," she replied simply.

"No, I mean with the prying. No offense, but I thought the point of a one night stand was the whole 'no questions asked' thing," he told her.

"Really? I thought the point of a one night stand was the sex...So, did you love her?" she segued directly back to her line of questioning.

"Don't you think this is a little awkward?" he asked, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"Not as awkward as waiting for the coffee in silence," she shrugged.

"Listen, Jenny right?" he asked.

"At your service."

"Well Jenny, I'm sorry but I don't really know you and I'm not feeling particularly comfortable with the conversation, so maybe we can find something else to talk about," he suggested.

"What do you mean? We got to know each other twice last night," she said coyly.

Logan sighed. Why wouldn't this girl leave? They were in the city. She could take two steps out the door in any direction and find a dozen places to buy a goddamn cup of coffee. He looked at her, irritation evident in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said, taking note of his facial expression. "I don't mean to pry...well OK, maybe I do, but mostly you just seemed upset."

She sounded genuine and he was taken aback by it. This certainly hadn't been what he'd been expecting out of this last night. He had been upset and drunk and he just wanted to stop thinking about Rory anyway he could. What was that old saying? _The best way to get over someone was to get under someone else?_ But he knew that one night with a stranger wasn't any way to get over Rory. If he hadn't truly gotten over her in the two years they'd been apart he certainly wasn't going to squash all these reanimated feelings in one night. Still if he couldn't get over her at least he could forget about her for a little while, only the woman who was supposed to be making him forget was doing just the opposite. He sighed and responded. "I am, that's why I just want to..."

"Forget," she finished the sentence for him. "I know the feeling."

"Do you?" he asked raising his eyebrows.

"What? You think I've never had my heart broken? You think I hang out at seedy bars and go home with strange but good looking men because I'm _not_ afraid of commitment?" she asked seriously.

"She didn't exactly break my heart, I kind of did it to myself," he replied, finally resigning himself to the conversation.

"You ran," she said more as a statement than a question.

"Yeah," he admitted.

"Maybe it's not to late to turn around and run back," she told him.

"Oh believe me," he said with a mirthless laugh. "It's _way _to late."

"You sure? Because you don't exactly seem over her."

"Yeah well, she's over me so it doesn't really matter how I feel one way or the other," he replied shortly.

"You really believe that?" she asked him.

"She's getting married to someone else, what the hell am I supposed to believe?" he slumped down in his seat and ran his fingers through his hair, just saying the words hurt like hell.

"Yes well, that does complicate things a bit," the girl nodded her head. "You're sure she loves him?" she asked

"Well that would be the logical conclusion now wouldn't it?" he said with bitterness in his voice.

"Since when does logic play a part in matters of the heart?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"You know you talk in your sleep?" she said, seemingly ignoring his question.

"What?" he asked perplexed.

"Her name is Rory, right?"

"How do you..." he started.

"I told you, you talk in your sleep."

"Fine, but that doesn't change the fact that _she's_ moved on."

"Maybe she has, maybe she hasn't," she reasoned. "But the point is, this woman is quite literally the girl of your dreams. You shouldn't give up on something like that until you're absolutely sure she doesn't love you back...Coffee's probably ready," she segued. "You want a cup?" she asked as she got up and walked towards the kitchen.

"Umm, sure," he said as he sunk back into the couch and back into his own thoughts. The things he'd said to Rory on the phone about her still wanting him had just been his cocky facade talking but perhaps it was more, perhaps his words had held some truth after all. Why_ would_ she call to yell at him about something she'd brought upon herself? Why would she have hidden her engagement from him? Why would she have kept Fred somewhere she'd see it every day? Why would she have come to lunch? Why would she have agreed to see him again? And Jess...why would he have left? Sure Rory had sounded like they might still work it out but he still left. That meant he must have had some doubts of his own, doubts about the strength of their relationship. Maybe Jenny was right; maybe it was too soon to give up. If there was a chance that Rory still loved him, that she loved him more than Jess, then he couldn't give up. God, this really had been the world's strangest one night stand.

* * *

Rory's phone rang and she looked down at the caller ID. She didn't want to talk to anyone but it was her mother and she hadn't spoken to her all week. She knew she couldn't ignore it or Lorelai would know something was wrong. She flipped the phone open and brought it to her ear. "Hello," she answered. 

"Is that any way to greet your loving, caring Mommy?" Lorelai jested.

"'Hello' is generally considered and appropriate greeting for anyone of any relation," Rory answered, completely serious.

"Someone's cranky, any reason for the snippy attitude this morning?" the elder Gilmore girl asked.

"Hangover," Rory replied. She didn't want to talk to her mom about this yet. Normally she could confide anything to Lorelai but this conversation felt awkward considering the fact that she was married to Jess's uncle and she had betrayed Jess so it was almost like betrayal by association.

"Oh, really?" Lorelai dragged out the last word. "So it's just the after effect of massive amounts of alcohol and has nothing to do with what's going on between you and Jess?" she asked.

"What do you know about what's going on with me and Jess?" Rory answered Lorelei's question with another question.

"Rory," Lorelai got suddenly serious, knowing for sure now that something really bad had happened. "Jess called Luke this morning...to give him a change of address."

"Oh," Rory said dejectedly. "He didn't waste any time, did he?"

"What's going on kiddo? Is this serious? Tell me," Lorelai prodded.

"I can't, you'll hate me, then Luke will hate me and then...well no, Jess already hates me so I guess I don't have to worry about that anymore," Rory said, clearly hating herself.

"First of all, no one hates you. It's _impossible _to hate you; you're like Christmas, or a cute little puppy. No one hates Christmas and puppies," Lorelai jokingly reassured her daughter. "Secondly, I'm offended," she huffed.

"Why are you offended?" Rory asked curiously.

"You really think I'm such a blabbermouth that I can't keep a secret from Luke?" she asked, pretending to be insulted.

"Yes," Rory answered half seriously and half mockingly.

"It just so happens missy," Lorelai chided, "that I can keep lots of things from Luke. For example, he has no idea where I keep my hidden stash of junk food so that he can't throw it all out and try to make me eat healthy."

Rory laughed a little. She was slowly becoming glad she'd decided to answer the phone. As weird as it would feel to tell her mother this, speaking to Lorelai always managed to make her feel better. "I know, it's just that if I had told you and you had mentioned it to Luke he would have felt obligated to tell Jess. But Jess found out anyhow so I guess it shouldn't matter anymore but still...ya know?"

"Actually, no I don't know because you haven't told me what's going on yet." Lorelai reminded her daughter.

"Right, that would probably help. Are you ready than? You might want to be sitting so you don't fall over from the shock," Rory warned.

"Did you drop out of Yale again, oh wait you already graduated. Did you join the DAR and move in with your grandparents; no you've already covered that one. Did you sleep with your married ex-boyfriend, wait, already did that too. I don't think you can shock me anymore kid, you ran out of shock factor a while back. Now tell me."

"I had lunch with Logan on Friday," she told her mom.

"Logan? As in Logan 'I get into a fight with my girlfriend and disappear off the face of the earth' Huntzberger?" Lorelai asked. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting her daughter to say but it hadn't been this.

"You know, I do believe that is his full name," Rory answered back.

"OK, so that was random and out of the blue but I wouldn't say it was shocking. I mean, it was just lunch right, nothing happened with..." Lorelai hesitated.

"No! Nothing happened...technically," Rory explained, not so reassuringly.

"Technically? What does that mean?" Lorelai proceeded cautiously.

"Well nothing happened, really. It's just that I might have misled Logan and made him believe that I was single and that something could _possibly _happen in the future," Rory admitted.

Lorelai was beginning to understand just what had transpired. She knew her daughter well, perhaps even better that Rory knew herself and she had always suspected that she had never truly gotten over Logan Huntzberger. "Might have?' she asked.

"Fine, I purposely hid my ring and avoided any mention of Jess's name or any indication of a significant other, and I told him I'd go to lunch with him again," The younger Gilmore blurted out. "Are you happy?"

"Well actually..." Lorelai joked.

"Hey!" Rory pouted.

"Of course I'm not happy. If you're not happy, I'm not happy. I'm not Emily Gilmore, I don't get joy out of other people's pain...So Jess found out, huh?" she asked.

"Well apparently Logan just _had_ to see me again." Rory said, trying to sound bitter in order to convince herself as well as her mother.

"He didn't?" she asked, figuring out what had happened despite the fact that Rory hadn't actually said it.

"He did..."

"You know, for someone who went two years without so much as a phone call he's awfully eager, isn't he?" Lorelai said.

"Yeah, well he seems to have gotten over it pretty quickly," Rory said bitterly.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, just that when I called him to yell at him this morning there was another girl there," Rory explained.

"You called him?" Lorelai asked suspiciously.

"Yes, to yell at him and to tell him that there couldn't be anything between us because I love Jess and we're getting married," Rory tried to explain herself.

"Hmm, and you don't think he got that message when he came to the apartment and saw Jess?"

"I...umm...well" Rory realized she was backed into a corner. It was true; she had no good reason for calling Logan. There was nothing she could have told him that he couldn't have figured out from his encounter with Jess. Why _had_ she called him?

"Hey, kiddo. What are you doing this weekend?" Lorelai asked, deciding she'd pushed the conversation far enough. She knew what Rory was feeling and why she had lied to Logan. She knew that Rory knew what she was feeling but her daughter was stubborn and she was determined to convince herself that those feelings didn't exist. There was nothing more Lorelai could say until Rory was ready to hear it.

"Wallowing, all alone, in my empty apartment," Rory said sadly.

"Now you can't do that," Lorelai insisted.

"Why not, it's not like I have anything better to do."

"Well duh, because it's your birthday. You can't wallow on your birthday."

Rory realized her mother was right; her birthday was next Monday. She had forgotten all about it considering all the drama the past few days. What a sucky way to start off a new year. "Yeah, happy birthday to me. Maybe I'll go out and celebrate with my fiancé except, wait, I'm not even sure if I _have_ a fiancé anymore."

"Come home." Lorelai suggested.

Rory thought about it for a moment. "I don't know it's a long drive just for the weekend," she said hesitantly.

"Well yes but you can't work on your birthday. Take a long weekend. Come on, you can't just stay at home. I won't allow it. Besides, I haven't seen you in ages."

"Well I suppose it might be good to get away and take my mind off things," Rory was slowly giving in.

"Yes, there's nothing quite as distracting as the crazy folk in Stars Hollow. We can take in a town meeting and you can have some Cheeseburgers from Luke's since I know you must be going through withdrawal. Plus I'm sure Kirk will do something insane and it'll be fun to see what crazy Halloween skit Babette and Morey are setting up. There really never is a dull moment in this town," Lorelai argued convincingly.

"OK, it sounds like a good plan. Besides, it's not like I've got anything better to do," Rory agreed.

"That's the spirit, way to make Mommy feel loved and important," she teased. "So I'll see you this weekend?"

"See you this weekend," Rory agreed. She hung up the phone feeling much better. Sure, nothing had been resolved but there was no better way to forget your woes than with a crazy trip to the Hollow.

* * *

Rory stood outside Truncheon Books, trying to find the courage to open the door and walk inside. It was Thursday, four and a half days since Jess had left and she hadn't been able to get a hold of him at all. She had left at least a dozen messages on his phone telling him how sorry she was and how much she loved him but he must not have believed her because he never called her back. She stood there for a few more moments before finally pulling the door open and walking in. 

She immediately caught the eye of one of Jess's business partners, Clark and she waved at him timidly. "Rory," he said walking over to her. "What are you doing here?"

"I really need to talk to Jess," she told him. Her voice was soft and she could barely look him in the eye.

"What's the matter? Is something wrong? You're alright aren't you?" he asked her with concern. Clark knew how much his friend cared about her and so he cared about her too. Still, he didn't know if Jess was ready to see her yet and so he was reluctant to go get him if it wasn't an emergency.

"No, everything's fine. Well except the part where he moved out and won't talk to me," she replied. She shifted back and forth on her feet nervously.

"He's just upset Rory," Clark said soothingly. "He just needs some time to calm down and come to terms with the situation."

"There _is_ no situation," Rory declared defensively, looking up at Clark. "Nothing happened and I love him and I want to marry him, that's all there is too it."

"I know you think you do," he said without thinking. It was clearly the wrong thing to say.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked angrily. She looked at him defiantly, all the timidness she'd been exhibiting before had melted away.

"It's nothing, it's just..." he didn't know how to redeem himself, he couldn't tell her the truth, that it was clear to everyone that Jess loved her more than she loved him. "I'll go see if I can find him. I can't make any promises though, he may not be ready to talk to you yet," he said instead.

"Good, go!" she ordered angrily. She stood there for a few moments, silently fuming. How dare Clark or anyone else make assumptions about her feelings. After a minute or two had passed she finally saw Jess walk out of the stock room and all her anger disappeared as she was once again filled with fear.

"Jess," she greeted softly, biting on her lip.

"Rory," he replied formally. It was taking all of his strength not to say "to hell" with everything that happened and just to kiss her instead. But he had to stay strong; he couldn't fold like a 3, 8 off suit.

"Can we talk in private?" She asked him.

"No," he said firmly. "I don't think that's a good idea," he added, softening his tone. "I'm not really ready for an 'in private' kind talk." He felt better with the security of the store around him. He felt stronger. If they went to talk in private he was sure he'd lose control of the situation.

It hurt Rory to hear that but she tried to tell herself that any talking had to be better than none. She sighed audibly. "I understand," she told him.

"Clark said you had to tell me something," he mentioned, trying to move the conversation along.

"Yeah, ummm...I just wanted to let you know I was going to Stars Hallow for the weekend. In case you needed to get in touch with me. I'm leaving tomorrow, right after work and I'll be home Monday night," she informed him. She didn't look directly at him but she kept glancing up to try to get a read on his facial expressions.

"Right, that's good to know...in case," he responded. Part of him was happy to hear that she was going to Stars Hollow. She'd always enjoyed a good trip home and he didn't want her sitting around wallowing, especially this weekend. It was also good to know that she'd be far away from Logan. But it wasn't good to know she'd be far away from him.

"Jess," she added. She had been debating whether or not to say this next part. There was a good chance he wouldn't believe her but she wanted to say it anyway. "I love you."

He had heard her voice saying those words on every voice mail she'd left. It hurt every time, knowing that while she may in fact love him, she didn't love him enough- not with all of her heart. Hearing her say it person was even more emotional. He tried to steady his emotions. "Rory..." he said.

She held her breath, hoping he would say it back, hoping he could just forgive her and come back home. "Happy birthday," he said instead. "If I don't talk to you on Monday. Happy birthday."

"Thanks," she said. She could feel the tears forming behind her eyes. She walked away before he could see them fall.


	13. A Thelma and Louise Kind of Night

"Honey, I'm home!" Rory called as she entered her home in Stars Hollow. 

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Lorelei jested as she walked out of the kitchen to greet her daughter at the front door. "You look a little like my daughter but that's impossible because my daughter moved to Philadelphia and never _ever _visits the mother who gave up so much to raise her."

"Well that's because you did such a wonderful job of raising her that she grew up into an amazingly talented- and very pretty, I might add- woman and left the nest and started her own life as a top-notch journalist," Rory bantered back.

"Eh, she's not that amazing," Lorelai dead-panned.

"Hey!" Rory pouted, placing her hands on her hips.

"Well OK, maybe you're a _little _amazing," she conceded. "I've missed you kid," she added drawing Rory into a heartfelt hug.

"Missed you too Mom." Rory smiled.

"So, how are you doing?" Lorelai asked seriously.

"Tired from the drive...and kind of thirsty," Rory answered, clearly being evasive.

"That's not what I meant," Lorelai chastised.

"Yes, well that doesn't make it any less true. I'm gonna go get a soda," Rory answered. She walked off towards the kitchen and Lorelai followed.

"So, you going to tell me what's going on?" Lorelai asked as she drew a chair out from the kitchen table and sat.

"I already told you everything," Rory pulled open the refrigerator door.

"You told me the Reader's Digest version. I'm the Mom, I don't get the Reader's Digest version."

"OK this is weird," Rory said as she looked in the open refrigerator.

"What's weird?"

"There are vegetables in here," she said, still avoiding her mother's inquisition. "and..." Rory opened the freezer just to take a look. "There's chicken in here that isn't pressed into nugget shapes and breaded."

"Luke's," Lorelai said nonchalantly. "I told him not to bring his healthy food here. It doesn't feel at home in this kitchen and I think the tator tots and Mallomars make fun of it."

Rory tilted her head to the side, examining the contents of the refrigerator. "Yeah, this banana has a bruise. I wonder if it got beat up by the pudding cup sitting next to it."

"I wouldn't doubt it, those pudding cups can be vicious," Lorelai dead-panned as her daughter sat down next to her with a can of Coke. "Hey, I have an idea. Instead of the soda we can go to Luke's and get some coffee and pie," she said excitedly.

"I don't know..." Rory hesitated.

"Aww, are you scared of Luke?"

"No," Rory insisted. Lorelai responded with a knowing look. "Fine, maybe I'm a little scared of Luke," she admitted. "I just don't want him to be mad at me."

"First, he's not mad at you. He doesn't have any idea what happened. All he knows is what Jess told him which is that he moved back in with his old roommates while the two of you worked some stuff out. Second, you can't avoid Luke by not going to Luke's, seeing as he lives here now."

"I can hide in my old room," Rory said hopefully.

"Kid..." Lorelai said, raising her eyebrows at Rory.

"I know," she pouted.

"So, coffee and pie at Luke's?"

"Coffee and pie at Luke's," Rory agreed, standing up from the table and grabbing the coat she'd draped over the chair. "Let's go."

* * *

Rory plopped herself down at one of the tables in the diner. "I swear that walk used to be shorter, that had to be a good quarter mile from the house," she huffed. 

"It just seems longer because you're getting old," Lorelai told her.

"Hey!" Rory pouted. "If I'm getting old than you're practically mythic."

"Yes, and as any good mythical enchantress my beauty never fades."

"You keep telling yourself that," Rory rolled her eyes at her mother.

"It's true, Luke agrees with me, don't you honey?" she asked as he walked towards the table

"Yeah, sure," he mumbled in response.

"Aww, see how much he loves me?" Lorelai directed the question at Rory but was ignored.

"Hi Luke," Rory said uncomfortably. She smiled slightly.

"Hey Rory, how's it going?" he asked her, equally uncomfortably.

"I'm OK," she responded. "I'd get up and give you a hug but I'm much to tired from the walk here," she grinned.

"Well that's because you're wearing those ridiculous shoes," he admonished pointing to the three inch heels on her feet.

"They're not ridiculous," she pouted. "They're pretty."

"Pretty and impractical."

"Yes, but the important part is that they're pretty," Rory emphasized.

Luke rolled his eyes. "You're as bad as your mother."

"I at least come a close second," she responded, giving him a bigger smile.

"So you're doing alright than?" Luke asked Rory again.

"I'm alright," she promised.

"Good. My nephew is a complete lunk head. I told him what an idiot he was on the phone."

Rory felt a wave of guilt hit her. She didn't want Luke to be mad at her but she certainly didn't want Luke to be mad at Jess, it wasn't his fault after all, she was the one messing things up. "No, Luke. It's not Jess's fault. They're are just somethings that we need to work through. It'll be alright. In fact, I spoke to him yesterday. We're going to work through this, don't be mad at Jess," she pleaded on her fiance's behalf.

"You didn't tell me you spoke to Jess yesterday," Lorelai spoke up.

Rory turned to her mother. "It was a short talk, I just stopped by the bookstore to let him know I was coming here for the weekend. There's still a lot we need to talk about but it was a start."

"I'm always the last to know everything," Lorelai whined.

Luke rolled his eyes at his wife and chuckled softly. "OK well I'm going to go get you guys some coffee. And some pie," he added.

"He knows us to well," Rory said to her mother.

"Yes, I trained him well," she answered proudly.

Just as Luke turned and walked away from the table the bell above the door rang. Rory turned to see Kirk walk into the dinner. "Hey, it's Kirk," she said, happily anticipating a good dose of wackiness. "Why is Kirk wearing that green sash? Did he win the Miss America pageant or something?"

"Oh just wait..." Lorelai told her daughter conspiratorially.

Kirk saw Rory out of the corner of his eye and turned to walk towards the table. "Rory, it's very nice to see you again. It's been a long time," he said evenly.

"Hi Kirk," Rory waved.

"Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?" Kirk asked her.

Rory turned to her mother "_Girl Scout cookies_?" she silently mouthed. Lorelai nodded her head in response.

Rory turned her attention back to Kirk. "So Kirk, you joined the Girl Scouts?" she asked

"Lulu is a troupe leader and I offered to help out. The other girls in the troupe all got vests to put their badges on but they didn't have any vests in my size so I had to get a sash," he explained, pointing to his chest.

"Oh, I see. Well thanks for the offer Kirk but Luke is getting us some pie so I don't think we need any cookies right now."

"That's OK. I'll be over there," Kirk pointed to a table in the corner. "If you change your mind."

"OK, thanks Kirk."

"Bye Rory, it was nice to see you again."

Rory turned to her mother and sat back in her chair, sighing contently. "I love this town."

* * *

It was Saturday evening and Lorelai and Rory were walking back to the house, arms full of videos and junk food for their traditional movie night. As they walked up the lawn towards the house they heard a familiar nasal voice call out. 

"Rory, sugah!" Babette called to her. Rory smiled, handed her bags to her mother to bring in the house, and walked over to her neighbors.

"Hi Babette, Hi Morey."

"I heard you were home for the weekend but I haven't seen you around. I was beginning to think my sources were gettin' it wrong," Babette complained.

Rory smiled. "I'm sure you're sources are fine Babette. It's good to see you again. What are you guys working on?" Rory asked, taking note of the elaborate Halloween supplies all around.

"Oh we're just settin' up our Halloween skit, doll. You like the guillotine?" Babette asked, pointing to the contraption sitting on the lawn. "Morey, go lay down on the guillotine, let's show Rory how it works."

Morey laid down on the table with his head under a towel. Babette untied a rope and let it go. The blade above the table came hurtling down to where Morey's neck was and Rory heard a thump as something went rolling off the table into a basket bellow. She screamed and jumped back. "Wow, that was very...realistic," Rory said, completely shocked by the graphicness of the skit. Morey was still convulsing on the table.

"Thanks, hun!" Babette said proudly.

"You're...welcome," she replied hesitantly.

"We're still working on it of course. We're gonna get some fake blood and squirt it around and stuff. It'll be great."

"OK, than I'll let you get back to work. Mom and I have some movies to watch. I'm sure I'll see you again before I leave."

"Buh bye hun," Babbette called as Rory walked back towards her house.

Rory walked into the living room a few seconds later where her mother was already setting up the massive amounts of food. "Ooh, goody pizza!" she said, grabbing a slice and sitting down on the couch. "What movie are we watching first?"

"Well before we start..." Lorelai began.

"What? Did we forget something?" Rory asked, scanning the table to make sure they had the requisite snacks.

"No, we've got everything. It's just that I was thinking."

"Uh oh."

"I think you've been procrastinating long enough," Lorelai told her daughter.

"Procrastinating what?" Rory asked.

"Talking about this Jess-Logan situation," Lorelai sad matter-of-factly, turning to face her daughter on the couch.

"No talking," Rory said simply. "It's movie night rules."

"Yes, well movie night hasn't officially started yet and I..." Lorelai pulled out the remote control and held it up, "have the power."

Rory sighed. She had been avoiding this talk all weekend and she knew she couldn't put it off any longer, Lorelai wouldn't let her. "Alright, She-ra, what do you want to know?"

"I want to know what you're going to do about it."

"I'm going to make things right with Jess," she answered simply.

"And what about Logan?" Lorelai pried.

"What about him? I mean, I know what I did was wrong- not telling him about Jess- but he knows now and I haven't heard from him all week so I'm sure he's gotten the point," Rory answered. Lorelai wasn't so sure she agreed with Rory's assessment that Logan had just moved on but she decided not to say so to her daughter.

"And that's what you want? Because I'm going to tell you something that someone once told me," Lorelai responded.

"And what's that?"

"You have to decide what you want, and what you're willing to give up to get it, and then you've got to be OK with that."

"Who told you that?" Rory asked.

"Oh, that shrink that you're grandmother tried to set your father up with."

"Oh, you mean the one who convinced you to ask Luke to elope which caused you to get into a big fight and drove you into Dad's bed?" Rory asked.

"Umm...yes," Lorelai answered hesitantly.

"So _this _is the advice you're giving me?" Rory asked, wide eyed.

"Well I know it _sounds _bad. But I made a decision and I had to live with the consequences of that decision. In the end though it all worked out. It took a while but in the end, Luke and I worked everything out and now we're doing great."

"Hey Mom," Rory said, suddenly having an epiphany. "Do you think Logan is like, my 'Dad'?" she asked.

"I certainly hope not," Lorelai said with mock horror. "That would have some very disturbing consequences."

Rory sighed. "You know what I mean Mom. Logan is to me what Dad is to you. They just disappear and then come back into our lives when things are finally starting to work out and they cloud our judgment and make us do stupid things."

"Maybe," Lorelai said. "It certainly is an interesting parallel but I think there are some differences too."

"Like?" Rory asked.

"Well I think the reason that I am that way with Christopher is because of the history we have together. I've known him my whole life and being around him is completely comfortable. Despite all of his screw ups he's one of my best friends and I can really be myself with him. You and Logan don't have that kind of relationship, you didn't know each other long enough."

"So then why does my judgment go straight out the door whenever he's involved?" Rory asked sadly. "Why can't I control myself around him?"

"Because you're in love with him, kid."

"I know, but I love Jess too and I made a promise to him. I told him I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him and I want to do that. At first I was scared, I wasn't sure if I could handle the thought of forever but then I started thinking about our future and everything we could have together. I want that. I want a future."

"So what are you willing to give up to get it?"

Rory sighed audibly. "Can we watch the movie now?" she asked instead of answering the question. She didn't have an answer. She wasn't even sure it mattered anymore.

"Sure," Lorelai turned back to the movies on the table and looked them over. Picking one, she smiled broadly, knowing it was the perfect choice. "I think it's a Thelma and Louise kind of night, don't you agree?"

Rory laughed at her mother's excellent choice. "It's definitely a Thelma and Louise kind of night."

* * *

Rory stirred as she felt someone kiss her on the forehead. "Happy birthday little girl," she heard her mother's voice. She opened her eyes only slightly and looked at the clock, 4:03 AM. 

"Hey," she said groggily as Lorelai climbed into bed with her.

"I can't believe how fast you're growing up," Lorelai told her.

"Really? It feels slow," Rory replied.

"Trust me, it's fast. So what do you think of your life so far?"

"I think it's pretty good."

"Any complaints? " Lorelai asked.

"I'd like that whole humidity thing to go away," she answered, sleep still in her voice.

"All right. I'll work on that," Lorelai assured her.

"So do I look older?" Rory asked, already knowing the answer she would get.

"Oh, yeah." Lorelai said emphatically. "You walk into Denny's before 5, you've got yourself a discount."

"Good deal," Rory laid her head on her mother's shoulder.

"So you know what I think?" Lorelai asked

"What?"

"I think you're a great, cool kid, and the best friend a girl could have," she informed her daughter.

"Right back at ya," Rory agreed.

"And it's so hard to believe that at exactly this time many moons ago, I was lying in exactly the same position..." Lorelai began the story

"Oh, boy. Here we go," Rory said in anticipation of what was to come.

"Only I had a huge, fat stomach and big fat ankles and I was swearing like a sailor..."

"On leave," Rory filled in.

"On leave - right! And there I was..."

"In labor."

"And while some have called it the most meaningful experience of your life, to me it was something more akin to doing the splits on a crate of dynamite," Loralie said, her voice full of nostalgia.

"I wonder if the Waltons ever did this."

"And I was screaming and swearing and being surrounded as I was by a hundred prominent doctors, I just assumed there was an actual use for the cup of ice chips they gave me," she continued, ignoring Rory's question.

"There wasn't."

"But pelting the nurses sure was fun."

"I love you, Mom," Rory said, not only because it was traditional for her at this point in the story but because she truly meant it.

"Shh. I'm getting to the part where he sees your head..."

* * *

"Ugh, I can't believe it's time to go home. I don't know if I'm ready," Rory said on Monday evening as she dragged her bags out of her bedroom. 

"So stay," Lorelai suggested.

"Mom, you know I can't miss another day of work," Rory said regretfully.

"So wake up early and drive back in the morning."

"It's over three hours. With traffic I'd have to leave here at 5 AM."

"So? You'll drink lots of coffee- Luke's coffee, it's the best there is," Lorelai pleaded.

Rory sighed but didn't answer. "Come'on kid, you know you want to," Lorelai added. "I'm about to go to a town meeting. You _know _you don't want to miss a town meeting. Taylor's bound to have some sort of crazy scheme up his sleeve."

Rory looked at her mother and laughed. "You're a bad influence on me."

Lorelai smiled brightly. "Let's go, we don't want to be late." Lorelai pulled Rory out the door.

Half an hour later the two women were sitting in Miss Patty's with a container of french fries from Luke's on their laps.

"For our first order of business," Taylor boomed from the front of the room. "I would like to address a very important issue concerning safety during this..." Taylor motioned with his hand as though he were using it to try and find the right words. "Holiday season," he finally said, although it was clear he was uncomfortable referring to Halloween as a holiday. Taylor hated Halloween.

"What's the problem Taylor?" Gypsy called out from the middle of the room.

"Well the problem is two-fold," Taylor began. "First I would like to address my concern over certain pranks and vandalism that tend to occur on the night of October 31st. I propose we institute a curfew to control the riff-raff that might otherwise cause trouble."

"Please, Taylor," Babette called out. "There hasn't been any riff-raff in this town since Jess moved away."

"Hey!" Rory protested loudly from the back.

"Well honey," Miss Patty responded, "He may have turned out alright but you have to admit he caused his fair share of trouble when he was a kid."

Rory couldn't really argue with them so she just popped a french fry into her mouth and continued to observe the town ritual.

"You can't institute a curfew for no reason Taylor," Andrew, owner of Stars Hollow books, objected, getting back on track. "We've never had any problems before."

"Well I suggest we let the town decide for themselves," Taylor responded. "All those in favor of instituting a curfew for Halloween, raise your hand." Kirk's hand went up in the air along with two other hands. Taylor rolled his eyes. "All those apposed?" The rest of the hands in the room shot up. "The irresponsible majority wins again," he sighed.

"What's the second thing?" Babbette called out.

"Well," Taylor began, "We all know the dangers associated with accepting candy from strangers." Rory laughed to herself. She could see where this was going already. "In order to protect our youth and provide a safe environment for them I am suggesting we only allow people to distribute candy purchased from approved proprietors."

Gypsy stood up to yell at Taylor. "This is ridiculous Taylor. It's an obvious business ploy. I might as well suggest that we only allow people to have theirf car fixed by me because other mechanics aren't trust worthy." Rory watched as Gypsy said this and a smile spread across her face as though she was suddenly liking the idea of becoming the town sanctioned mechanic, even though she practically already was.

"This is not a business ploy. Anyone who would like to provide Halloween candy would be allowed to do so as long as their establishment was inspected and improved. Of course there would have to be a small fee for the inspection..." he replied.

Rory sat silently as she watched the ensuing argument. "Town meetings are way more entertaining than anything on TV these days," Rory whispered to her mother. "This was definitely worth sticking around for."


	14. This Cannot Be Happening

"Where have you been?" Sue asked frantically as Rory walked into the paper on Tuesday morning. "It's almost 10 already."

"Oh, I stayed at my Mom's last night and drove back this morning," Rory informed her. "The traffic was awful, it took me four and a half hours to get here. I called Frank on the way to let him know I'd be late."

Sue fidgeted nervously and kept throwing glances at the door to Frank's office as she followed Rory to her desk. "Um, maybe you shouldn't sit down just yet," she said nervously. "Let's go to the break room, I need some more coffee."

Rory didn't listen, she sat down in her chair and laid her head on the desk. "I'm not in the mood for this Sue," she said, looking up at her friend wearily. "I've been up since 4:30 this morning and even my step-dad's coffee isn't enough to keep me chipper on four hours of sleep."

"Well than, um...you're probably not going to like what I have to tell you," Sue said sheepishly.

"Than maybe it should wait," Rory suggested, lifting her head up off the desk. "I should get to work on my article."

"I don't think this _can _wait," Sue told her friend as she shot still more nervous glances at the office across the room.

"Why not?" Rory sighed.

Sue looked at Rory, then and Frank's office...Rory...office...Rory...and as she looked back at the office one more time the door opened. "That's why," Sue pointed across the room.

Rory's jaw dropped as she looked at the two men walking out of Frank's office. "What. Is. He. Doing. Here?" she asked.

"Well, he um...he's taking a meeting with Frank," Sue answered.

"This _cannot_ be happening," Rory said leaning back into her chair and looking across the room again to where Frank and Logan were standing, saying their parting words. Logan turned away from Frank and looked across the room, catching Rory's eye. He smirked at her and she felt her heart beat quicken despite her anger. She looked away quickly. "Why? Why? Why is he doing this? I thought he was going to leave me alone."

"Do you _want_ him to leave you alone?" Sue asked, raising her eyebrows.

"What I _want _is to make things right with Jess, this is going to seriously hinder that," Rory bit her lip, trying to decide what to do.

"But if it wasn't for Jess...?"

"It doesn't matter what I'd want if it wasn't for Jess. I have to stop this. I can't let him buy the paper." She looked up to where Logan had been standing but he was gone. She was sure he would be walking her way but instead she saw him standing by the elevators. She knew he was playing games with her. She knew he was expecting her to come to him but she didn't have the time or patience for games so relenting, she stood up and walked off towards the elevators.

"Are you going to be OK?" Sue called after her.

Rory stopped and turned around momentarily. "Yeah, we're just gonna have a little chat."

As Logan stood inside the elevator, the doors began to slide closed and he found himself getting worried. She wasn't going to come after him. She had definitely seen him, there was no doubt about that, so why hadn't she come to talk to him. But just as the doors were about to close her hand slid between the gap and she pushed them back open.

He smiled his cocky smile at this momentary victory. "Hey Ace, going down?" he asked, his voice thick with innuendo.

"Oh no Logan," she said, entering the elevator. "You don't get to do this."

"Do what?" he asked innocently.

"The cocky smirk and the double entendres and the big brown puppy dog eyes. It's not going to work," she warned him.

"You like my big brown puppy dog eyes, do you?" he asked her as the doors slid shut behind her and the elevator began to descend.

She sighed heavily. "We need to talk...now." she said angrily as she hit the emergency stop button on the elevator.

"C'mon now Ace, this is place of business. I don't think this is appropriate."

She rolled her eyes in frustration. "_Not _gonna happen Logan. I stopped the elevator so we could talk, period." She folded her arms across her chest and as she changed positions he noticed a glint off her left hand.

"Nice ring you got there. I can't remember, were you wearing that the last time I saw you?" he asked facetiously.

The question obviously didn't require an answer so she ignored it. "What are you doing here Logan?"

"Oh, well I had a meeting with Frank," he answered simply.

"You promised me you weren't going to buy the paper. You _promised _me Logan," she said, raising her voice.

"Actually I promised I wouldn't buy the paper if you went out with me again. I never got my second lunch Ace," he shrugged.

"So _that's_ what this is? Spite? You can't have me so you're going to make my life as hard as humanly possible? God forbid, the Almighty Logan Huntzberger doesn't get the girl. Well I don't see any pigs flying so apparently the world _doesn't _revolve around you," she yelled.

"And it doesn't revolve around _you _either. This isn't spite, Rory, this is business. I'm not going to base my business decisions around a woman who doesn't even have enough common decency to tell me she's engaged," he spit back at her.

"But you were willing to base them around me when you thought I was single?"

"I was willing to base them on _us_. You and me," he admitted, motioning between them. "I was willing to base them on what _we _could have had."

She closed her eyes for a moment. _What we could have had_. She wondered too. What could have been if it weren't for Jess? But she pushed the thoughts away, concentrating on the matter at hand. "Please, Logan," she said pleadingly. "Please don't do this."

"Why Rory? If you love Jess like you say you do than you'll be fine. If he's the one you're meant to be with, than working with me shouldn't be a problem for you," he said simply.

"It will be a problem for Jess." It would be a problem for her too but she couldn't admit that to him.

"Well _excuse _me if I don't give a damn about Jess," he said, anger flaring up.

"Do you give a damn about me? You said you loved me Logan. Don't you want me to be happy? I was _happy _with Jess. I can be happy with him again, but not if your around."

"You can be happy with _me_," he said quietly, his guard was finally down and she could hear the vulnerability in his voice.

She breathed deeply. "Can I?" she asked, raising her eyebrows?

"Yes." He took a step toward her, she took a step away.

"Maybe for a little while, but it won't last Logan."

"How do you know that?" He stepped towards her again and she reciprocated with another step backwards.

"Because I can't trust you Logan."

He winced at that but he knew he deserved it. He went on. "I've changed Rory."

"No, you haven't."

"_Yes_! I have," he said emphatically.

"If you've changed so much than how come you were with another woman not more than forty eight hours after you told me you loved me? How can I trust you when you say something like that and then go and do something like...that?" she asked, her voice shaky.

He sighed; he knew that was going to come back to bite him in the ass. At least he could take the opportunity to explain himself. "I wasn't thinking straight Rory. Do have any idea what it was like to go looking for you and find _him_? Do you have any idea how hurt I was? I couldn't stand it, it hurt too much. I just wanted to make it go away, I just wanted to stop thinking about you. I couldn't though, even then- all I could think about was _you_," he pleaded.

"Are you _serious_? _That's _your defense? 'I was fucking her but I was thinking of you.'?" she asked incredulously.

"Well when you say it like that..." he said defensively.

Rory just huffed and made a motion to walk around Logan. She was going to start the elevator back up, she'd had enough of this conversation. Logan stepped to the side and stopped her. "Tell me you've never done it before," he said.

"Done what?" she asked.

"Thought about me when you were with him," he said, his voice low and breathy. He stepped toward her again and she tried to step away but she was backed against the wall. She looked away from him sheepishly. She couldn't tell him that. The truth was she _had _thought about him from time to time. She always tried to push the thoughts away and sometimes she could but sometimes she couldn't

Logan put his hands against the wall of the elevator on each side of her and leaned in close. "Tell me you don't ever wish you could still be with me," he whispered into her ear. She said nothing. "Tell me you don't want me." His breath was warm against her ear and she shuddered with anticipation. She knew the only way to stop what was about to happen was to tell him those things but she couldn't find the strength to do it.

He pulled his head back a little so he could look directly at her. She didn't say anything but the answer was written all over her. "I didn't think so." He brought his lips crashing down onto hers. His hands moved off the wall, one tangling itself in her hair and the other resting itself softly on her hip. She didn't fight it, she couldn't fight it. Her entire body was humming with pleasure so that she couldn't hear the thoughts in her head telling her to stop, telling her that she was risking everything she had with Jess. Her body was working on its own, responding solely to Logan's touch. She put one of her hands on his chest and it wrapped itself around his tie as she pulled him towards her.

A small moan escaped her lips as his tongue danced with hers. She brought her free hand up and ran it through his tousled her, grasping at the tendrils. The hand that he had placed on her hip dropped and his finger tips grazed the skin on her leg just below the hem of her skirt. She shivered at his touch. His hand moved up her leg and disappeared beneath her skirt. Her foot instinctively lifted off the ground and her leg wrapped itself around him, pressing him closer to her. She was beginning to feel short of breath but she didn't want to stop. After a few more seconds, he took his lips away from hers and began planting kisses up and down her neck. She closed her eyes, breathing heavily, she let the physical pleasure wash over her. "Logan," she breathed.

"Mm," he mumbled. He was nibbling at her ear now.

She sighed contentedly but it didn't last. Slowly, regretfully, the thoughts began to fill her head again. She tried to push them away, she didn't want the moment to end but the harder she tried not the think, the more she thought. "Logan," she finally breathed but not for the same reason as before. "Logan...stop," she said in a very unconvincing manner. "Logan you have to stop," she tried again. His hand was still supporting the leg she had wrapped around his waist, she took it back and put her foot on the ground. He finally pulled back and looked at her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, breathing heavily.

"Logan, we can't do this," she told him.

He sighed dejectedly. It had been a perfect moment. He almost believed everything would be right once he kissed her but that had been naive. The moment was over and they were right back where they had started. "You still want Jess."

"I'm not going to lie. What happened just now...it was amazing. You and me, we've always had amazing chemistry. But it doesn't change what I said before. I still can't _trust_ you, Logan. I don't know if I'm willing to risk everything I have with Jess on the hope that things will be different this time," she told him.

"He left Rory. You said on the phone last week that he moved out. Are you willing to risk what _we _could have on the hope that he'll take you back?" he asked desperately.

"I don't know Logan. I need to think and I just can't think when I'm around you."

"So where does this leave us?" he asked her.

"I'm not sure. I'll call you I guess," she offered.

"OK," he sighed. "I guess that will have to be OK." Logan stepped back and pressed the elevator button. They traveled the rest of the way down in silence. The doors finally opened into the lobby of the building and he looked at her before stepping out. "Happy Birthday, Ace," he told her.

She smiled. "You remembered."

"How could I forget. Oh, and you might want to check in your desk when you go back upstairs. It's possible someone _may _have left something for you there," he told her, stepping out of the elevator.

"I'll do that," she promised as the doors closed and he disappeared from her view.


	15. You've Got Sex Hair

Rory leaned back against the wall of the elevator, her thoughts consumed by the events that had just occurred. She wanted things to be simple; she _needed _them to be simple. She couldn't take being pulled in two different directions like this. She had tried to ignore her feelings for Logan. She knew she still loved him but she tried to convince herself that it was just a lingering emotion that couldn't control her like this. But it _was _controlling her and she hated that. The truth was that she did love Jess and she had made a commitment to him. She had begun planning her whole life around that commitment; the house in the suburbs with the in-ground swimming pool, the 2.5 children, the dog and the minivan. She wanted that, the nice normal happy life- and Jess was the guy to give it to her. So why couldn't she put her feelings for Logan aside? Why did she have to love them both? 

The door to the elevator finally opened and Rory walked absent mindedly towards her desk. All hope of forgetting about Logan Huntzberger was gone now. She couldn't ignore him anymore, not now that she remembered exactly how his lips felt on hers and exactly how her body sang when he touched her. She remembered now just how alive she felt in his presence- but was it enough? Was that feeling enough for her to give up all the hopes and dreams she had for her and Jess?

"So, I take it things with Logan went well?" Sue asked with a raised eyebrow as Rory sat down at her desk. "I guess I was worried for nothing," she gave Rory a wink.

"Why do you say that?" Rory asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Oh well the goofy grin on your face for one thing," Rory shot Sue an annoyed look but Sue ignored her. "Oh and also, you've got sex hair," Sue pointed an accusatory finger a Rory.

"I do not have sex hair," Rory said with a hint of defensiveness and a hint of worry in her voice simultaneously. "You can't have sex hair without having sex."

"Come on. You can tell me," Sue said, keeping her voice low. "You had sex in the elevator, didn't you?"

"No!"

"The bathroom in the lobby?" Sue asked hopefully.

"I _didn't _have sex with Logan; at least not within the last two years," Rory defended herself.

"Than how to do you explain the sex hair?" Sue asked, smirking.

"I don't _have _sex hair," she insisted.

Sue reached into her purse and pulled out a makeup compact. Opening it up, she held it front of Rory's face.

Rory looked at herself in the mirror. Besides the fact that her lipstick was slightly smeared, her hair was tousled and messy and a chunk of it was sticking up where Logan had run his fingers through it. "Oh my god, I have sex hair," Rory exclaimed a little too loudly. She noticed people nearby turn their heads to look and she lowered her voice. "I have sex hair and I didn't even get to have sex." Rory frantically patted her hair down and tried to smooth it out.

"Well that's disappointing. I was looking forward to hearing just enough about it to feel completely satisfied but not quite enough to get totally grossed out... But something _did _happen right? Because you look a mess and positively aglow all at the same time."

"OK, well maybe _something _happened," Rory reluctantly admitted.

"Oooh, oooh , tell me," Sue exclaimed as though she were a five year old on a sugar high.

Rory rolled her eyes. She knew her friend wasn't going to go away without details so she reluctantly gave in. "OK, there _may _have been some kissing."

"Kissing? That's it?" Sue asked disappointedly.

"Well, perhaps there was a bit of groping as well," she admitted, once again her thoughts drifted back to the encounter on the elevator.

Sue smiled. "Much more entertaining," her voice got more serious. "So does this mean you're choosing him?"

"No...maybe...I don't know," Rory admitted. "Jess makes me happy but Logan makes me feel alive, you know? Only I can't trust Logan, I don't think I'll be able to take having my heart broken like that again.

"Didn't Jess make the same mistakes? And you gave _him_ a second chance."

"But Jess changed. He'd gotten a job and written a book. He'd really made a stable life for himself and he proved that he could be trusted not to make the same mistakes again. Plus, I wasn't risking so much by giving him a second chance. Logan is exactly the same as he's always been and if I make all these sacrifices to let him back into my life, back into my heart...I'll just be totally crushed when he leaves again."

"When he leaves? What makes you so sure that he's going to leave?"

"There are two things about Logan Huntzberger that I know haven't changed. One, he's still a playboy. I tried to break him of the habit once and it worked for a while but then he left and now he's right back to his old ways. So maybe he'll try the commitment thing again, and I don't think he'll cheat on me but who's to say he won't get bored and dump me again? Two, he's daddy's little puppet. He told me himself, he goes wherever his father sends him and he may be here for now but one day soon he'll be shipped off to Timbuktu and I'll be left all alone again."

"Honey, I'm sorry," Sue said sincerely.

"I really would love to give him a second shot. I mean the feelings are all still there but I just don't know if I can; I don't know if I can give it all up on a whim. I love Jess, I can be happy with him, so why would I want to give that up?"

"So you're choosing Jess than?"

"I guess, but..." Rory began.

"Oh no, not another but."

"How can I be with Jess when I can't stop thinking about Logan? It was hard enough trying not to think about him before but now..." Rory ran a finger softly over her lips where Logan had kissed her. "And Jess is gone right now. He said I needed time to figure out how I really felt. Maybe he was right. Maybe I _should _use this time. Maybe I can see Logan once or twice and give him a chance to prove himself, right?"

"If that's what you think is best, but you know that when you say 'give him a chance' that doesn't mean..."

Rory cut Sue off. "I _know _I can't sleep with him," she said rolling her eyes at her friend.

"Not if you're still thinking of trying to work things out with Jess...So, now about that present..."

Rory's mind flitted back to a different portion of her elevator experience- _it's possible someone may have left something for you_... "Wait, how did you know about the present?"

"Please, you're man thinks he's so slick? A room full of reporters and he thinks he can slip a little blue box into your desk without anyone noticing." Sue shook her head, pretending to be disappointed in Logan.

Rory laughed a little but suddenly stopped. "Wait, did you say 'little _blue _box?'" she asked, her eyes growing wide with excitement.

Sue nodded her head. "Second drawer down," she informed Rory.

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Rory scolded as she opened the drawer and pulled out the box. Sure enough it was a little blue _Tiffany's_ box. Rory smiled brightly.

"This way was much more fun...now open it already."

Rory slowly pulled the top off of the box and peaked inside. She gasped, taking in the exquisit jewelry before her. "They're amazing." she said, fingering the earrings. Each one consisted of six pear cut, pink sapphires surrounding a blue sapphire to create a flower. They hung on a stem of white gold.

"Wow, you soooo need to pick him. You may not have had sex on the elevator but those earring are _way _better than an orgasm," Sue gasped.

"Sue, I can't just pick him because he has good taste in jewelry," Rory said even though she knew her friend was joking.

"And the funds to back it up," Sue added with mock seriousness.

"I _know _you're not that materialistic."

"Yeah I know too, but it's fun to pretend I am," Sue said, still gawking at the earrings.

Rory returned her attention to the jewelry as well. They were magnificent, there was no doubt about that. "Oh, there's a note," she said noticing a piece of paper between the earrings and the cotton padding.

"What's it say?"

Rory began to read out loud. "_Dear Ace_,"

"Ace?"

"I'm his Ace reporter," Rory said, smiling goofily.

"Aww, that's cute."

"Yeah. So anyhow..."_Dear Ace, I read somewhere that sapphires provide clarity and inspiration. You've always been an inspiration to me, thought I'd try and return the favor. Happy birthday. Love, Logan_," she finished reading.

"Wow, this guy is good."

"Yeah, almost too good," Rory added. Man, he really wasn't going to make this choice easy on her.

* * *

Rory fished through her purse for the keys to the apartment. It had been a very long day and she was completely and thoroughly exhausted, both physically and emotionally. She just wanted to go inside, take a shower, order some Chinese food and pass out on the couch while watching a movie. 

She had been thinking long and hard all day about the Jess/Logan situation. What did she want and what was she willing to give up to get it? The truth was that she wanted it all and she didn't know _how_ she was going to choose between the sense of security and contentment and family that she had with Jess and the feeling of excitement and rush of adrenaline she had when she was with Logan. She didn't want to think about it anymore, at least not until she'd had a chance to rest and recharge. She had finally accepted the fact that Jess was giving her time and she was actually glad. She needed it more than she had realized.

She found the keys and pulled them out. She went to stick them in the lock but found the door was already open. She _knew _she hadn't left it open all weekend when she was at her mother's. Reaching back into her bag, she grabbed the mace she kept with her ever since she had moved to the city. She slowly opened the door and walked into the apartment.

"Hi Rory."

"Jess, you're back."


	16. What You've Got to Do

"Hi Rory."

"Jess, you're back."

"Yeah, I uh...I thought you were coming back last night," he told her nervously. He had been scared to death when she didn't get home the previous night like she was supposed to, and he felt guilty as hell about it because he wasn't worried _something _had happened to her, he was worried _someone _had happened to her.

She stood in the doorway, gawking at him for a moment before she spoke up. "I stayed at Mom's an extra night and just drove to work super early this morning," she said flatly.

He finally noticed the suitcase she had with her and he breathed a sigh of relief; she had been with Lorelai. "Oh, well I made you a birthday cake; one of Luke's recipes. Of course it's not your birthday anymore but it should still taste just as good."

He stared at her from across the room. She hadn't smiled once since she had opened the door to the apartment. He had decided after her visit to the bookstore last week that he had to go back to her. It hurt to know that she only loved him half way but he decided it would be enough for him as long as he loved her enough for the both of them; but her just standing there, staring, not smiling- it was breaking his heart.

She was still standing in the doorway and she finally stepped into the apartment, closing the door behind her. Looking around she noticed that Jess had placed candles all around the apartment. He had been expecting her back on her birthday and he had planned a romantic night. She really felt guilty now. She also felt sad and frustrated. She was on emotional overload. Just when she had accepted that she really did need time, he came back and took that time away from her. But she had asked him to come back, she had insisted she didn't need the time, so this was really all her own fault. And here he was being the perfect guy, planning the surprise and the cake and the candles. What was she supposed to do? There really was only one thing she could do.

Putting her bags down she walked across the room to Jess. Circling her arms around his neck, she kissed him and she could feel the tenseness in his muscles melting away. She pulled back and looked him in the eye. "I'm glad you're back," she told him. And a part of her was. She had been hoping for a chance to sort through these emotions that seemed to become more intense each day since Logan had waltzed back into her life, but she had blown her chance and the time had come to make her choice. She would stick by Jess because she had agreed to marry him and that commitment meant just as much as the actual vows. She had promised to spend the rest of her life with him and even though she may still have loved Logan, she would have to put those feeling aside and make this sacrifice for Jess because that's what a marriage was all about; sacrificing for the one you vowed to be with forever.

"I'm glad I'm back too," he said smiling. This was better, this was more like the welcoming he had hoped for.

"Not to press my luck, but what made you change your mind?" She tried to sound happy. She'd put him through enough the past two weeks and she was determined not to make him suffer any more. She was still all torn up inside but for now she would do her best to give Jess the love and attention that he deserved.

"It was too hard to stay away. I tried, and then you came to the bookstore and after that it got even harder the next couple of days. And the worst part was that you weren't here, you were in Stars Hollow and I'm glad you went to Stars Hollow, I know how much you love it there..."

"Jess, you're rambling."

"I just...I missed you Ror."

"I missed you too."

He put his arm around her waist and led her to the couch; she sat down but he didn't. "Wait right there," he told her. She watched as he walked off to the bedroom and then reappeared a few seconds later holding a small box wrapped in silver paper. "Happy birthday," he said, handing it to her as he sat down on the couch.

She looked at the box expectantly for a moment before slowly unwrapping it. "An i-pod," she said with fake enthusiasm. It was a nice gift, hers had broken a few weeks ago and she hadn't gotten a new on yet. But while it may have been thoughtful, she didn't find it to be very romantic.

"Turn it on," he prodded. She did as she was told and suddenly felt a little stupid. "I programed it with all the songs that remind me of us."

Now that _was _romantic and yet she had the strangest reaction. She was almost annoyed at his thoughtfulness. It was almost as though she wanted him to mess up so that she'd have a reason to change her mind about choosing him. But she wasn't going to change her mind, she'd made a decision and she was sticking with it. "It's so sweet," she said, forcing the bad thoughts out of her head and forcing the good ones to the front. She leaned back into him, resting her head on his shoulder and began scrolling through the play-list. "Oh, look 'The World Comes Tumblin'.' The Distiller's played that as the encore at the concert we went to," she exclaimed. "I was so mad at you that night," she mentioned as an afterthought.

"You were mad at me?" he asked seriously.

"Well yeah, I had been sitting home all weekend waiting for you to call like you promised and you never did and then you just showed up at the hockey game. But hey, what a way to make it up to me, right?" she smiled sweetly.

"Rory, I'm sorry I didn't mean too..." he began.

"Hey, it was a long time ago. We were kids and you had a lot going on in your life. No need to apologize," she assured him. The truth was, as badly as he had sometimes treated her back then she kind of missed those days. Those were the days when he was wild and free and he pushed her and forced her to live outside her box. Sure she had spent a lot of time feeling hurt and angry but the important part was that he got her to feel. He made her stop thinking and start feeling. _Just like Logan always did _she thought to herself.

"I know, but that wasn't an excuse for my behavior," he insisted.

"I don't need excuses. It's in the past. Let's just worry about today; in fact let's just worry about dinner first, I'm starved. Let's order Chinese." She sat up to look at him.

"You never get sick of that stuff do you?" he asked with a shake of his head.

"Nope," she answered. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Hey, nice earrings. Where'd you get them?" he asked.

All the composure Rory had held since she walked up to Jess and kissed him, began to melt away. She forgot she had put the earrings on. What was she going to tell him. She tried to steady her nerves and then spoke. "These? Fake. I got them for like, twenty bucks a Macy's," she lied. "I'm impressed. You noticing jewelry, how very un-guy like of you."

"I think that was supposed to be a compliment?"

"Oh yeah, sorry. I didn't mean un-guy like in girl like way," she insisted. Her stomach was still filled with butterflies. She hoped she was being convincing. She had to get away before she slipped up about what had happened earlier that day. "Hey, can you order the food? I want to go take a shower. It's been a really long day."

"Of course," he told her. She leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the lips then grabbed her bags and headed off towards the bedroom. Placing her things down on the bed she reached into her purse and pulled out her cellphone, taking it with her into the bathroom.

Once she had reached the bathroom she locked the door behind her and turned on the shower with out getting in. She leaned against the bathroom door and slid down onto the floor, circling her arms around her knees she began to cry.

* * *

"So you sexually assaulted her on an elevator?" Honor asked her brother over the phone, her voice only half serious. 

"I did _not _sexually assault her. She kissed me back you know," he defended himself. He was sitting in his personal office in his apartment with folders full of notes in front of him. The folders were all color coordinated, a different color for each of the papers he was researching. He was fully concentrating on his conversation with Honor and not his work but he couldn't help but look at the different folders and think of the irony- knowing that he had taken to organizing his notes this way thanks to Rory's influence.

"OK, fine so maybe it wasn't a felony but it must have been a misdemeanor; indecent exposure at least," she tried again.

"Honor!" he said sternly. "I swear we kept all our clothes on," he added with a roll of the eye that Honor couldn't see but knew about anyway.

"Come on Logan. I want to be on your side here, you know I've always thought Rory was perfect for you but don't you think this is a little bit inappropriate?" she asked more seriously.

"A guys got to do what a guys got to do," he retorted with a smirk she couldn't see.

Honor sighed. "What about the fiance?" She had spoken with Logan last week after the run in with Jess and the phone call from Rory so she was already up to date on those happenings.

"I don't know," he answered truthfully, his smirk quickly melting away. "Like I told you before, she said he moved out and I'm pretty sure he's still gone but she was wearing the ring and it sounded like they hadn't _actually _broken up. Like they're just taking some time or something," he said with a furrowed brow.

"So technically she's still engaged?" she half stated, half asked.

Logan said nothing.

"So that means technically the two of you were cheating," she continued on, after interpreting his silence.

"Well if you're going to look at it that way," he said defensively.

"I am." she said mater-of-factly.

Logan sighed. "Why are you doing this Honor? You're making me out to be the bad guy here. And OK, maybe in a way I am, but I don't _want _to be the bad guy. I just want her back."

"That's the problem Logan. You want her back; but the truth is, that doesn't look promising. I don't want you fooling yourself with these false hopes. I saw how hard it was for you to get over her when you broke up, and now she's back around and every time I talk to you it seems like you're more and more invested in a relationship you don't even have anymore. If you keep this up..." she hesitated.

"What?" he asked, annoyed. "If I keep this up _what_? I might not _ever _get over her? Don't you understand Honor? I'm never getting over her either way. You talk about how hard it was for me to get over her the first time...just because I pretended I was OK and went about my business like I wasn't heart broken doesn't mean I got over her; it just means I got good at acting. My biggest regret in life- and trust me, I've made a lot of mistakes- my biggest regret is cutting her out of my life that night. Now if it comes down to it and I really have to, if he's really the one she wants to be with, then I'll have to find a way to deal with that; but for now I at least have to _try _to get her back."

"I just don't want you to get hurt, little brother," Honor said meekly.

"I know you don't, but there are some things that just can't be helped."

"So what are you going to do about the paper?" she asked him, curious to hear his thoughts on this aspect of the problem.

"I don't know," he answered honestly.

"What would you do if weren't for her?" she asked, trying to gain some levity on the matter for both his sake and her curiosity.

Logan looked down at the folders in front of him. The yellow, blue, and red folders were all neatly piled up off to the side of his desk. A small stack of orange folders representing The Liberty Herald and another stack of green folders representing another paper were directly in front of him, the top folder in each pile still open. Both open folders contained a pr-con list, another one of her influences, obviously. "I'm not sure yet, but the Liberty is definitely in the running either way. I've got it narrowed down to them or another paper, The Philadelphia Page." He looked at the pro-con lists and saw that they were practically even. "They're kind of running neck and neck right now."

"Hmm, well that's no help..." she said pensively.

At that moment Logan's phone beeped to alert him to another call. He looked down at the caller ID and smiled. "That's her Honor, I've got to take this."

"I know you do," she told him reassuringly.

"Talk to you later, Honor."

"Logan..."

"Yeah?"

"Just be careful, OK." She really hoped his heart was ready for what awaited him on the other line.

"I will," he promised, trying to reassure his sister. "Later Honor," he said again and switched the call over to the other line. "Hey there Ace, long time no see. You just couldn't get enough of my, huh?" he greeted, trying to muster up every ounce of his cocky bravado.

"Logan," Rory responded softly. Logan thought he heard her voice crack a little as though she had been crying but he tried to ignore it. He heard something else in the background; water running perhaps.

"Is that the shower?" he asked.

She nodded her head before she realized he couldn't see her. He continued before she had a chance to respond properly.

"You know, that's kinky Ace, but I don't think it's a manufacturer approved activity for your Razor...the phone, not thing you shave your legs with," he added.

"Logan," she said again more forcefully.

"Yeah?" he asked, finally giving her a chance to speak.

"Thank you for the earrings," she told him. She looked down into her open hand where the earrings currently sat. She had taken them off as soon as she had reached the bathroom. They were so beautiful, he really did have good taste in jewelry; _and a good eye for sizes, _she thought, remembering the day of the LDB event and the blue gown. She really wasn't that materialistic and yet these gestures of his always meant so much, as though he was trying to share the beauty of the world with her.

"You're worth it," he replied.

She choked back more tears. "I can't accept them."

"If you don't like them we can get you something else," he offered though he knew that wasn't the problem at all- that she wasn't rejecting the earrings, she was rejecting him.

"No, Logan. They're absolutely beautiful," she choked out.

"I see," he said. How had she decided this so soon? She had said she would think about it. He knew Honor was right when she said the chances of him getting her back were slim but he thought he'd at least have _some _time to plead his case. And then his brain once again acknowledged the sound of running water in the background and he put it all together. He had obviously known she hadn't _actually _been in the shower but it was definitely the shower running and now he knew why. It was there to drown out the sound, to hide her voice so that _he _wouldn't hear her on the phone.

"He's back, isn't he?" Logan asked painfully.

"I'm sorry Logan," she was still holding back the tears.

"Hey," he shrugged his shoulders. "You can't help how you feel. If he's the one you love..."

"I do love him," she assured him, "but that doesn't mean I don't love you too. I don't know if that makes it better or worse but I _do _love you. I'll always love you. It's just...I had to choose."

"Hey, I get it," he responded bitterly. "Nothing you can do."

"Bye Logan," she said softly.

Logan looked down at the folders in front of him. Closing the top green folder he placed the entire pile on top of the others to the side of the desk. He looked down at the remaining stack of orange files, finally making his choice. "I'll be seeing you Ace."


	17. Arthur or Lancelot

**AN: quotes in italics are from the movie The Princess Bride- only of the best stories to ever be cinematized.**

* * *

"Do we really have to go to this thing tonight?" Jess whined. "I'd much rather stay here with you," he added, his tone turning suggestive. 

"Of course we have to go. It's Halloween, we can't stay in on Halloween. Besides, these are my co-workers and I told them we're coming. It would be pretty rude if we didn't show up," Rory called back from the bathroom where she was putting the finishing touches on her make-up.

"Fine, I get that we've got to go but do I really have to wear this costume?" he complained.

"Yes. It matches my costume and we're a couple so we have to match," she peaked her head out of the bathroom to look at him.

"Yes, but did we really have to be a couple that wore tights?" he tried again.

"Hey, that's what you get for saying you didn't care what we went as and that you would let me take care of the costume shopping. This is really all your own fault. Besides, you look fine," she insisted walking out of the bathroom and grabbing her purse. "Now come on, we're going to be late."

* * *

"Can we sit down now? I've had enough mingling for a while," Jess stated. He hated these parties. He had always been more of a loner type and when he did go out he preferred it to be a just a couple of friends kicking back beers at the bar. These kinds of situations were pretty foreign to him. 

"No, we can't sit down now," Rory retorted in a sarcastic voice. He was really getting on her nerves. He had been complaining since well before they even left the apartment and it hadn't stopped since. She knew he wasn't really one for parties but he had agreed to go to this thing and the least he could do was _try _and have a good time, maybe be a _little _polite to her friends. "Look, there's Brad. It's his party we have to go say hi. After that we _are _going to dance whether you like it or not." Rory pulled Jess towards Brad. "Hey Brad, great party. We're having a blast."

"Rory, good to see you. Great costumes. I'm glad you could come," Brad offered back.

"Brad, this is my fiance Jess. Jess, this is Brad he works in advertising and he's the one who orchestrated this wonderful party tonight." Rory turned to Jess and offered him a look that told him he was to smile and greet the man politely.

"Hi Brad, nice to meet you," Jess offered with fake enthusiasm. "Great party you've got going on here."

"Good to meet you too. Rory talks about you a lot. And thanks, this is shaping up to be a pretty decent shindig if I do say so myself," he said to Jess then turned his attention to Rory. "Huntzberger hasn't even shown up yet. He said he'd show. He's pretty young, seems like he knows how to party. I'm sure he did more than his fair share of that in college. Plus he seems like quite the ladies man, bet he brings a small harem of hot chicks along."

Rory stood in shocked silence as Brad spoke about Logan. She didn't know how to respond, not only to his incredibly inappropriate comments about Logan but to the simple fact that he had spoken _to _Logan, had invited him to the party. When? Why?

"I'm sorry, did you just say Huntzberger was going to be here?" Jess asked Brad.

"Yeah, you know about Huntzberger? Of course, Rory must have told you all about Huntzberger Publishing Group. Real big wigs in the newspapering world. They're taking over the Liberty," Brad answered conversationally.

"I'm sorry, they're taking over? As in this is a definite thing?" Rory asked, finally finding her voice.

"Yeah, they were there this afternoon to finalize the deal, didn't you see them?"

"No, I was out on assignment today. I didn't know," she told Brad then turned to Jess. "I wasn't in the office, I swear I didn't know," she said again, her voice pleading with Jess to believe her.

"Yeah, you said you had some interviews to do today," Jess responded but his tone and body language were difficult to interpret.

"Oh I didn't realize you didn't know. Yeah, the Huntzbergers came in this afternoon for a final sit down with Frank. Signed the official paper work. After that Big Daddy Huntzberger ran off somewhere but the kid stayed around to meet some of the staff," Brad continued on with the story, clearly not taking note of the discomfort of the two people standing before him.

"Wait? Big Daddy Huntzberger? You mean Mitchum?" Rory began to panic even more than she already was.

"Yeah, I think he was just in for the day though. The kid's gonna be taking over. How old is he anyway, like 25? I can't believe I'm gonna be taking orders from someone twelve years younger than me. Probably never even worked a day in his life either, just got by on daddy's good name."

Rory's panic quickly dissolved into anger. She had been too shocked to say anything the first time but she wasn't going to let Brad continue to denigrate Logan that way. "Logan may only be 25 but I can guarantee you he knows a hell of a lot more about this business than you ever will. And don't assume that just because of who he is that it makes him some lazy, stuck up, frat boy who spends his days drinking and whoring. You have no right to judge a person like that," she snapped.

Brad turned his attention to Jess momentarily, "Did I miss something?" Jess didn't answer, he just stood there tensely, not saying a word. Brad turned back to Rory. "Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, or him. I'm sure he's a real decent guy. Not that it matters, he's our boss not our friend. So all we have to worry about it sucking up to him, right?"

Rory couldn't take it any more. Normally she got along pretty well with Brad, despite his tendency to be overly blunt. But tonight he was just saying all the wrong things. "Ugh, don't you get it? He's not just some arrogant jerk who wants people kissing his ass all day. Sucking up to him isn't going to get you on his good side."

"Why not, it worked for you," Jess unconsciously mumbled under his breath but Rory heard it anyway. She turned on her heal to direct her wrath at him. He had been an ass all night but he had just _completely _crossed the line.

"_Excuse _me?" she asked, her eyes shooting blue flames.

"Why are you defending him Rory?" Jess asked, irritation evident in his voice. He'd been in a bad mood all night and to stand there listening to Rory defend Logan with such passion only made him angrier. She shouldn't be that passionate about another man.

"He's my friend Jess, and someone has to defend him when people start bad mouthing him without even knowing him."

"You're friend, right. A friend you used to sleep with, a friend you secretly met with behind my back, a friend who's made it clear in no uncertain terms that he'll do what ever it takes to win you back despite the fact that you're engaged to be married," he snapped at her.

"God Jess, get over it. I'm with you. Logan is just a friend now. I _chose _you. Although if you keep up this ridiculous attitude you've had going on lately I might have to start rethinking that decision," she threatened. "You know what, I need a drink," she said and stormed off towards the bar.

"Uh, did I miss something?" Brad asked again, completely confused by the argument that just had just occurred. Jess just glared at him and walked off.

"Gin martini," Rory ordered the second she'd crossed the room and reached the bar, "emphasis on the gin."

"This sudden need for copious amounts of alcohol wouldn't have anything to do with me, would it, Ace?" Rory turned to the sound of the voice and found herself looking into a pair of caramel brown eyes that peeked through a black cloth mask. She stepped back to take in the whole site of him. He wore a loose fitting black linen shirt that exposed just a bit of his chest, there was a black sash around his waist and he wore black pants and black boots. His hands were covered in black leather gloves and a sword sat on his left hip. He looked absolutely amazing. She knew she should be mad at him but just one look at him and there was no anger at all. She swallowed, trying to force her stomach out of her throat.

"How'd you find a mask to fit around that big head of yours?" she asked. Her tone was light and she was clearly just playing with him. He had been afraid she would be furious when she found out that he'd decided to buy The Liberty after all, but it looked like she was going to take it better than he thought.

"I had it custom made," he replied nonchalantly.

"Oh well that explains it."

"It_'s just that they're terribly comfortable. I think everyone will be wearing them in the future_," he added taking on a bad British accent.

She smiled at him. Here she had been silly enough to think he was dressed as Zorro. She should have known better. "_I know who you are. You're cruelty reveals everything, You're the Dread Pirate Roberts, admit it_," she replied, playing along.

"_With pride_," he bowed dramatically. "And you m'lady?" he asked, deviating from the script but attempting to stay in character. She was dressed in a medivil style gown with her hair pinned back into a french twist. She was absolutely breath taking.

"Lady Guenevere, at your service," she curtsied.

"And your escort, I assume he's around here somewhere. Arthur or Lancelot?" he inquired.

Rory's smile faded away. "I don't want to talk about him right now," she said brusquely, avoiding the question before her. She turned back to the bar and grabbed the martini that she'd ordered, taking a large swig.

"Ah, and that brings us right back to the copious amounts of alcohol," Logan replied. The cloth covering his forehead wrinkled slightly as he raised his eyebrows knowingly. "What did he do?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

"He's just in a mood tonight. I don't want to worry about it. I came here to have fun and if he doesn't want to join in the festivities I'll just make my own fun. Come on, let's dance," she told Logan, setting her drink back on the bar and grabbing his hand.

This was definitely going better than he hoped. Not only had she not yelled at him about buying the paper but she was asking him to dance. It was most certainly going well. "_As you wish_," he smirked as they walked out to the dance floor.

Rory placed her arms around his neck and Logan grabbed her by the waist. They tried to keep a respectable amount of distance between them as they danced in comfortable silence. She looked up into his eyes, they were beautiful and so easy to get lost in, especially the way they were emphasized by the mask. But she couldn't loose herself like that, not in him. She tore her eyes away and spoke. "You know, Wesley's supposed to have blue eyes," she told him.

"Hmm, I blame my parents. They had the audacity to give me at least one brown eyed chromosome. They just weren't thinking ahead at all," he unconsciously drew her in closer as he spoke.

"One more thing to blame on Mitchum and Shira, that list is getting pretty long, isn't it," she teased. Her body responded to Logan's tightening grip and she stepped closer to him, closing the gap.

"Ahem," Rory's head shot up at the sound of Jess's interruption. "I'm sorry, didn't mean to interrupt your dance with you _friend _here but I think it's time for us to go," he said angrily.

"No," she replied firmly.

"We need to talk about this."

"This isn't the time or place to discuss this Jess," she said, sending a withering stare his way.

"I know, that's why we're going home," he ordered.

"I'm not going home. I came here to enjoy the party and that's what I'm going to do. If you're not enjoying yourself feel free to leave at anytime but don't expect me to come with you. Now if you'll excuse me, I was in the middle of a dance," she turned back to Logan but Jess grabbed her arm and forced her to turn back to him.

"I'm not leaving you here with _him_," he said, his eyes shooting daggers at Logan.

Logan looked down at Rory's wrist and noticed that Jess was still holding on for dear life. That was it, he had stayed back and let them have their words since he didn't think Rory would appreciate him for killing her fiance but there was no way in hell he was going to put up with Jess touching her like that. "Let go of her," he said, his voice steady and icy.

"Stay out of this Huntzberger," Jess spat back, but he let Rory's hand fall. He was angry but he certainly would never hurt her on purpose.

"You know, that was my intention but now I'm thinking, no. You lay a hand on her in malice again and there will be hell to pay," Logan replied vehemently.

"What are you going to do? Get daddy's lawyers to sue me?"

"Jess," Rory yelled at him.

Logan gave her a shake of the head letting her know that he'd take care of it. He stepped menacingly towards Jess. "Well fortunately for me I happen to have this trusty epee here with me tonight." Logan grabbed the handle of his sword with his right hand and retracted it from its sheath just a few inches. "And unfortunately for you, I happen to have been fencing since I was eight. Now normally I wouldn't consider using a weapon but what can I say, I'm feeling really in character tonight."

"Logan," Rory said, now turning to scold the other man in front of her. "Don't threaten my fiance with swords. He may be acting like a child and I may be extremely angry with him right now but I would like him back in once piece. Besides, it's incredibly cheesy."

"Right," he said, taking his hand off the sword and stepping back. He tried to gain control of the emotions. How could Jess act like such an asshole? How could she be with such an asshole? Is this really what she'd chosen over him? "Guess I got a little carried away."

"You think?" she asked him, wide eyed before turning back to Jess. "Just go home Jess, we'll finish this later."

"Fine," he said, his eyes still glued on Logan. "And Huntzberger, you said I'd regret it if I ever laid a hand on her in malice again-well just know that if you lay a hand on her _at all _you'll be the one with the regrets and your hoity-toity fencing hobby isn't going to help you." With that Jess stormed out of the party.

"Seriously Logan," Rory said once Jess was gone. "You might as well have thrown down your gloves and challenged him to a duel. What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking he was hurting you and I wasn't going to just stand by and let it happen," he defended his actions.

"He wasn't hurting me. He barely touched me," she rolled her eyes.

"It looked like he had a pretty good grip from where I was standing," he said, gently lifting her hand to examine it for signs of bruising. He didn't find any.

"Trust me, if he was hurting me he would have been hurting right back, I promise," she said reassuringly.

"I know," he sighed. "I just don't..."

"You don't like seeing me hurt. And I appreciate that, but I'm not yours to protect anymore."

"I know that you chose him, Ace. I know I blew my chance back in The Pub all those many moons ago. But that doesn't mean I'm ever going to stop caring. I'm not going to let _anybody _treat you that way if I can help it. And you shouldn't put up with it either," he started out speaking in soft, sad tones but as he continued the frustration started building up and his voice got louder. "Why, why would you let him talk to you like that? Touch you like that. I don't care if it hurt or not, it was still wrong."

"Everyone makes mistakes Logan. He's not usually like that. He was just angry and.."

"Jealous," Logan added.

"Yes," she admitted. "I'm not saying the way he acted tonight was alright, he was kind of being a jerk even before we found about you and the paper, but he really is a good guy normally."

"I get it," he said, even though he really didn't. There was no way that jerk deserved her. He moved to walk away but Rory stopped him.

"Where are you going? We didn't finish our dance," she said smiling shyly.

"You still want to dance," he asked, smiling back. "Despite my cheesy display of macho-ism?"

"Well, your intentions were noble so I suppose you can be forgiven," she grabbed his hands and drew him to her.

They began dancing again, this time with no space between them. "So you're OK with this?" Logan asked her.

"With what?" she looked up at him, slightly puzzled.

"Me...the paper," he responded. "You're not mad?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Can you only answer my questions with questions?" he asked back, smirking at her.

She smiled at him but then turned serious. "Did you know I wasn't going to be in the office this afternoon?"

"I may have gotten an anonymous tip saying you had some interviews set up," he admitted.

"So you were trying to hide it from me? I'm not mad. I thought I would be but I'm not. I just think a little forewarning could have saved us all some drama tonight. So I'm wondering why you tried to hide it. It's not like I wasn't going to find out."

"I wasn't hiding it, Ace."

"Than why did you purposely avoid doing it at a time when I would be there?"

"I told you, I'm never going to let anyone treat you badly if I can help it," he answered sincerely.

Rory recalled what Brad had said earlier..."Big Daddy Huntzberger". Mitchum had been there. She'd almost forgotten with all the other drama. "You didn't want me to have to deal with your dad." It wasn't a question.

"No," he confirmed. He decided he was tired of the serious talk and all of a sudden he lifted her up and swung her around.

"Eeeh," she screamed like a child. "What the heck was that for?"

"Fire spurt," he replied pointing to the ground he'd just lifted her over. "Didn't you hear the popping?"

She laughed at him. "I made you watch The Princess Bride one too many times, didn't I?"

"You introduced me to a classic," he reassured her.

"You know, I never understood men's obsession with that movie. Don't get me wrong, it's got to be one of the best movies of all time but isn't it kind of a chick flick what with all the fantasy and romance?" she asked.

"It may have lots of fantasy and romance but it's also got giants and pirates and torture and sword fights. Seriously, what's not to love?"

"I guess," she replied smiling up at him. They fell into a comfortable silence. She rested her head against his chest as they swayed to the music.

Eventually Logan spoke again. "_Why didn't you wait for me_?" he asked.

Rory didn't know what to say. Was he still quoting the movie? He had to be, there was no way he could expect a real answer to the question. He'd walked out of that bar two years ago. He couldn't possibly have thought she'd be waiting for him. She decided to answer safely. "_Well...you were dead," _she looked up into his eyes. Maybe that wasn't the safe answer after all.

"_Death cannot stop true love; all it can do is delay it for a while_," he looked back down into her bright blue irises. He was mesmerized.

His eyes bore into her, causing a warm tingly feeling. It felt good, it felt right, she didn't want that feeling to go away. But he wasn't supposed to be the one making her feel that way. It wasn't supposed to be him. She wanted to push herself up and close the gap between them. She wanted more than anything to feel his lips on hers again. She couldn't do it though. She wasn't really sure why she couldn't do it, why she continued to pick Jess. Was it just because he was safer? More reliable? Was it her head speaking or her heart? Whatever it was she couldn't go through with what was about to happen. She painfully pulled away from his gaze and stepped away from him. "I...I should go."

"Right," he said, still staring at her. "You should go...home."

"Home," she repeated him.

"To Jess," he added.

"Right. Home, to Jess. I should talk to him; make up."

Logan cringed internally. The last thing he wanted to imagine was her and Jess making up- on any level which that entailed, but he let it go for now. "Do you need a ride? I don't want you going home by yourself. Frank's outside with the limo, we can give you a lift home."

"You still use Frank?" she asked, remembering Logan's usual driver.

"He's been my driver since I was 12. I wouldn't trust anyone else. So how about it Ace?"

She wanted to accept his offer. She wanted to slide into the back of that limo with Logan, just the two of them alone, but she knew that was far too dangerous. "No, I think I'll just grab a cab, it'll be fine."

"At least let me walk you out, make sure you get a cab alright. It's Halloween, lots of crazies out there, can't trust anybody," he said, his voice getting low and husky.

"Alright," she agreed. They walked out of the building silently, afraid to look at one another.

Outside Logan stepped into the street to hail a taxi. One finally stopped and Logan opened the door for Rory. She slid into the back seat and looked back at Logan. She was going back to Jess but she couldn't help but wonder if maybe she wasn't really going home after all. "Thanks Logan," she said.

"See you at work," he promised her with a nod of his head as he closed the door of the cab then watched it drive off.

He immediately picked up his phone and called Frank. There was no way he was going back into that party. He was _definitely _going home to a _very _cold shower.


	18. And the Gold Medal in Meddling Goes To

"You're sitting in my chair," Rory said, looking pointedly at Sue as she walked into work the next day. 

"Yes, well it looked so comfortable and I wasn't sure if you'd be in today to sit in it yourself," Sue stood up and offered the seat back to its rightful owner.

Rory rolled her eyes as she sat behind her desk. "And why wouldn't I come to work today?" she asked even though she had a very good idea of the type of comment that was headed her way.

"Oh well I heard that you and Logan hopped on his private jet and flew off to Cancun to live in a beautiful villa overlooking the Caribbean Sea."

Rory's head fell defeatedly on her desk as she let out a sigh. "Please tell me you're making that up. They can't really be that bad can they?" she mumbled into the wood surface.

Sue laughed. "What did you expect Rory? You left the party with the new boss..."

Rory lifted her head back up to interrupt Sue, "I didn't _leave_ with him, he just walked me out."

Sue continued on as though the interruption had never occurred, "After spending the whole night dancing with him like your head was glued to his chest..."

"My head was not glued, literally or figuratively," she argued.

"And let's not forget the proverbial thrown gauntlet. I'll have to admit I would have loved to have seen a fencing match for your honor. That would have been highly entertaining. As it was I had to settle for entertaining myself with listening to all the gossip."

"And I'm sure you threw some more fuel into that fire; you're Generation Y's version of Miss Patty," Rory accused with mock seriousness.

"Oh, well of course, I told them all about how you, Jess, and Logan had a threesome a while back and Jess was upset because he was so enamored with Logan but Logan only had eyes for you," Sue joked.

Rory gave Sue a hateful look and once again dropped her head to her desk, burying her face in her arm. "You're evil."

Sue smiled and shook her head. "When people asked me what I knew, I just told them that you mentioned working with Logan back at Yale and then I assured them that you were happy with Jess and that there was nothing going on between you and Huntzberger. Of course I omitted the Aerosmith incident."

"Aerosmith?" Rory asked, not catching on to the reference.

"Love in an Elevator," Sue smiled a little at the knowledge that she had stumped the pop culture reference Queen.

"Right, I should have gotten that one."

"So I didn't lie, did I?" Sue asked in a hushed voice

"Lie about what?"

"You and the boss man. No good night smootchies or other illicit activities to speak of? You can tell me you know."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Nothing happened. He walked me out, helped me hail a cab, and then I got in _alone _and went home to Jess. End of story."

"So how'd _that _go?"

"Oh, well there was some yelling followed by some screaming which preceded the harsh bitter accusations and then came the less than sincere apologies on both sides, and finally there was some actual civil conversation and then we made up," Rory sumated.

"And when you say 'made up'..." Sue prodded.

"We had sex," Rory blushed and looked away.

"Now I know you're still a little shy about your sex life and all but that there was just plain pathetic. You want to explain the overly dramatic look of shame?" Sue, always the observationalist, asked.

Rory sighed and looked around her to make sure no one was too near by. "This is really bad Sue..." she began in a hushed tone.

"What's bad? The sex was bad?"

"No, actually the sex was pretty damn amazing. In fact, I think it was the best sex I've had since..." Rory trailed off.

"Since Logan?" Sue asked pointedly. Rory shook her head to confirm. "So I'm guessing there's more to this than the fact that the sex was good?"

Rory cast her eyes down in shame. "Logan said something to me the other day...on the elevator."

"You mean something other than 'let me shove my tongue down your throat and feel you up'?"

Rory glared at the red head for a moment before continuing. "He said something about whether or not I ever thought about him...when I was with Jess," she whispered quickly.

"So it was the best sex since Logan because you were imagining having sex with Logan." It wasn't a question, Sue knew exactly what her friend was telling her.

Rory nodded her head shamefully. "I literally had to bite my tongue to keep from screaming the wrong name," she admitted, sticking out her tongue to show Sue the bite mark.

"Well there's an easy solution to that," Sue informed Rory.

"Oh really? And what would that be?"

"Sleep with Logan, then it won't be the wrong name anymore," Sue replied matter-of-factly.

"No, I'm not going to cheat on Jess."

"Hun, you made out with your ex on an elevator, got all touchy-feely on the dance floor, and almost called out the wrong name in the sack. I think it's time to face the facts."

"And what facts would those be?" Rory asked defensively.

"You're still in love with Logan."

"I never denied that. But that's besides the point."

"How can that _possibly _be besides the point?"

"Because I also love Jess."

"You love Logan more."

"You don't know that. I don't even know that."

"Rory, the way you looked at Logan last night, I've never seen you look at Jess that way."

"So you think I should just throw away one of the most important relationships in my life because I was making goo-goo eyes?" Rory asked incredulously.

"I think you should listen to what your heart is telling you and if you're not going to listen to your heart, I think you better have a damn good reason not to."

"I have my reasons Sue," Rory responded, getting annoyed. Sue was getting treacherously close to crossing the line.

"And what reasons would those be?" the red head pushed on. Her voice was harsh but she kept the volume low so as to not attract the attention of the others in the rapidly filling newsroom "You don't want to hurt Jess? You don't want to lose him or your relationship with him? You don't trust Logan? Which one of the many excuses you've been throwing around for the last month is your good solid reason?"

"I don't have to justify my love life to you Sue. I've confided this stuff to you because you're my friend and I was looking for a little support but if you can't even offer me that..."

"I'm trying to support you Rory, I really am." Sue's voice softened. "I just want you to be happy and after last night it seems so obvious who's going to make you happy. It's so obvious that you want to be with him. You just need to figure out what it is you're _really _scared of and deal with it, Rory. Otherwise these conflicting feelings are never going to go away. Think about it." And with that the red head headed off across the newsroom.

* * *

Rory glanced furtively at the desk on her left. Logan was there, talking to Cory, the occupant of said desk. He had spent the morning introducing himself to the staff one on one and familiarizing himself with current projects. It was clear that she was his next stop. 

She took a deep breath trying to calm her nerves. Why was she so nervous anyhow? She'd already had several run ins with him and she certainly hadn't been nervous around him last night. Maybe that was the problem; maybe she was concerned about the fact that she was _too _comfortable around him. Maybe it had something to do with her "make-up" session with Jess the previous night. Or maybe it was the conversation she'd had with Sue that morning; no that couldn't be it, Sue was wrong. Rory wasn't making up excuses, she had good reason. She was engaged, that was in fact, a pretty _damn _good reason to not engage in sexual relations with her boss/ex-boyfriend.

Rory's eyes darted to her left once again and she noted that Logan had straightened up and was shaking Cory's hand She forced he gaze back to the computer screen in front of her and tried to at least pretend to work on her article.

"Hey there Ace," she shouldn't have been startled by his presence yet she jumped at the sound of his voice and the feel of his hand on her back.

"Oh, Mr. Huntzberger," she greeted him formally.

Logan laughed a little. "Did you just call me Mr. Huntzberger?"

"Yes, well we're at..." she started but he cut her off.

"You know, I kind of like hearing you call me that. It's no 'Master and Commander' but it still has that certain sense of...authority about it," he smirked.

"Logan," she said sternly.

"That's Mr. Huntzberger to you," he said with mock seriousness.

Rory turned her head to glare at Logan but when she did she found that their faces were uncomfortably close and she quickly turned back.

Logan spoke again. "I'm supposed to be introducing myself but we already know each other, and I do mean that in the biblical sense of the word, so we can skip that step...unless you have any objections."

She still wasn't looking at him but she could tell that he finished that statement with a smirk. Why did he have to be so insufferably arrogant? Worse yet, why did it have to be such a turn on?. God, she wanted to jump his...NO! No jumping. She was engaged- engaged to Jess. She couldn't do that to him, wouldn't. She could control herself, she _had _to.

"Now, now _Mr. Huntzberger_," she cooed. "I hope you have a good memory because there will be no more getting to know me in your future.

What had he gotten himself into? Maybe Honor had been right. This was dangerous territory for him. It was taking all of his strength to toe the line, heck it was taking all of his strength to keep from knocking everything off her desk, throwing her on top of it and taking her right there in the crowded newsroom. He couldn't do that though, she wasn't his for the taking, though that wouldn't stop him from using every ounce of his charms to win her back. In the mean time he'd just have to control himself.

"Very well _Miss Gilmore_. Why don't you show me what you're working on?" He motioned to her computer screen then rested his hand on her desk while the other hand remained on her back where it had been since he'd first approached her. He leaned in to read over her shoulder.

He was so close and she could feel the heat radiating off his body. It wasn't fair, not fair at all. How was she supposed to concentrate? She took a deep breath and tried to speak. "OK well right now I'm..." she trailed off. This was just not going to work while he was practically breathing down her neck. "...Logan?"

"Yeah Ace?"

"Could you maybe not stand so close?"

"Nope, sorry. Forgot my glasses. I can't read what you've written unless I get up reeeeal close."

She rolled her eyes. "You don't wear glasses Logan."

"No? Hmm, maybe I need to get some," he replied, nonchalantly.

"Seriously Logan. You need to take a couple of steps back. People are going to get the wrong idea," she tried again.

"What? Like that we're having sex in the break room?" He didn't move.

"Yes, like that," she sighed.

"Too late Ace. People already have that idea."

"What?"

Logan shrugged his shoulders as best he could without moving his hands from her desk or her back. "That's the rumor I head on my way in this morning."

Rory shook her head frustratedly. "When would we _possibly _have had sex in the break room? It's only your first day."

"And yet we found time to almost have sex in the elevator."

"We did NOT almost have sex in the elevator. She said sternly. "It was just a kiss...one which will not be repeated."

"You keep telling yourself that, Ace."

Rory randomly let out a little laugh. "What's so funny?" Logan asked, truly curious.

"I heard that people thought we'd run off to Mexico to live in your villa by the sea," Rory recounted Sue's earlier story.

"That would never happen," Logan replied seriously. "I don't own a Mexican villa. I do however have a chateau in the French Riviera with its own vineyard. We could shack up there for a while if you were so inclined."

She ignored the last part of that comment. "You're not serious are you?" He nodded his head in confirmation. "So you have that palace of your parents' in Hartford, a summer home on Martha's Vineyard _and _a french chateau?" she replied disbelievingly.

"Uh huh," he confirmed. "Plus the penthouse in Manhattan, a ski cabin in Aspen and another one of those in the Swiss Alps. Oh and then there's the island in the Bahamas."

"You have a house in the Bahamas?"

"No, I have an island in the Bahamas."

She turned her head to give him a pointed look, letting him know that she didn't believe him before turning away again. "OK, fine. I lied about the island but the rest is true."

Rory didn't respond and after a few seconds he finally followed her gaze across the room to see why. Jess was striding towards them. _Shit!_ he thought. _That guy showed up everywhere_. Logan realized he was still incredibly close to Rory and that the hand he had placed on her back had somehow tangled itself in her hair. He drew his hand back and straightened up.

"Hi Jess," Rory squeaked. "What are you doing here?"

Jess's gaze had been stuck suspiciously on Logan but he moved his eyes to Rory and smiled. "I thought I'd come by and take you out to lunch."

"Oh, well that's sweet but I'm kind of working and I don't know..." Logan stepped forward and cut her off.

"Don't be ridiculous, of course you can go to lunch," he said with a forced smile.

"Are you sure?" she asked Logan.

"Don't argue with me. I'm the boss and I say go to lunch, so you should go to lunch. Just be sure to send me that article so I can finish reading it," he pointed to her computer.

"Sure, I'll do that as soon as get back." Rory agreed. She grabbed her purse and stood up. "I'll be back in an hour," she promised as she walked off with Jess, sending a quick, apologetic look Logan's way.

He stood there tensely, jaw clenched tightly as he watched them walk off. _Fuck!_ What had he just done? He'd encouraged her to go to lunch with Jess. Jess could have her whenever he wanted. He shuddered at the thought. Work hours were supposed to be his to see her, to be near her, to try and charm his way back into her good graces. He could have easily told her she couldn't go to lunch, the power of being the boss. He could have told her to stay and finish her work and sent Jess off alone. But deep down he knew that would never work. Deep down he knew that he didn't have the liberty of acting jealous and possessive over her, it would probably just piss her off and push her farther away. Still, _this_, seeing her with him, it wasn't really working for him either. _Fuck! Fuckfuckfuck!_ What had he gotten himself into? How could he make her see that Jess wasn't right for her? He had hoped that the results of the previous night's show down would have been a bit more profound, or at least a little longer lasting. Apparently, though, they had worked things out. He was broken out of his reverie by the sound of someone scoffing at him. He turned around to face Sue.

"Oh yeah, they've got it _all _worked out," she replied sarcastically.

"Huh?" he was confused.

"You said that they apparently worked it out."

"I did?" he wasn't aware that he'd said anything at all.

"Man, you've got it bad," Sue shook her head and gave him a pathetic look.

What the hell, he didn't need this woman telling him about his feelings for Rory, he was pretty clear on how he felt about her. "I'm sorry, I don't..."

"I know, I know. You don't think this is appropriate. I know it's not, you're my new boss after all and we've only actually met once. But she's my best friend and I care about her a lot so I'm going to step out on a limb here," Sue replied.

Ahh, now he remembered who she was. She was the strange girl he'd met in the break room that first day. The one who'd apparently spilled the beans to Rory about his being there. She obviously knew about their past. He calmed down a bit. He respected anybody who cared enough for Rory to risk their job. "Ahh, well any friend of Rory's..." he began. "...But if you're going to give me the 'if you really care about her you'll leave her alone and let her fix things with Jess' speech I'm going to tell you now that I can't do that."

"Good."

"I gave up on us once and it was... wait a minute did you say 'good'?"

Sue sighed. "Sometimes it amazes me how unobservant people are, especially people in our line of work. I'm very observant, I notice everything. I notice the way she talks about you and how her voice is different than the one she uses to talk about Jess. I noticed the way she looked at you last night and again a few minutes ago. I noticed the way you look at her. You're going to tell me how much you regret what happened in your past. You don't have to, its written all over your face."

Logan wasn't really sure how to respond to this, he just stood there.

Sue continued. "I'm not going to ask you to leave her alone because I know that despite how much she refuses to admit it, she doesn't _want _you to leave her alone. She's just scared."

"Of what?" Logan asked, despite himself.

"_That_, I can honestly say I don't know. Maybe she's hanging onto something she has with Jess or something that their relationship represents. Maybe she's hiding from something you represent. Sadly, I haven't come even close to figuring it out, I doubt even she's figured it out yet. Just give her time, she will," Sue turned to walk away but stopped. "Oh, and this little chat...it never happened."

Logan laughed. "You're secret is safe with me." Yep, that girl was still as strange as he'd thought in the break room that day but he kind of liked it. It was a shame Rory said she had a boyfriend; she really would be perfect for Finn.


	19. The Surprise Visit

Rory sat down and let out a sigh. Shaking her head with a mixture of amusement and frustration she pulled the basket sitting atop her desk towards her. Logan had been there almost two weeks and every single day during that time she would walk in to work to find something else waiting for her. Today's gift appeared to be at least a dozen different types of gourmet coffee from all around the world. Was he really so oblivious as to think that all of these presents would change her mind? Was he really so naive that he thought he could buy her love?

She dug through the basket looking for the note she knew would be there. Locating the piece of stationary she unfolded it and began to read.

_Dear Ace,_

_I wanted to get you the world's best coffee but I know Luke would never reveal his sources, especially to me. I have, however, begun the search for the world's second best cup of coffee. Here are the contenders so far. Hope you enjoy._

_Love,_

_Logan_

Rory rolled her eyes. How the hell was she supposed to enjoy this coffee? Was she just going to walk into her apartment with the giant basket and say_ "hey Jess, want some expensive coffee compliments of my ex-boyfriend?"_ As though Jess weren't jealous enough as it was. She couldn't bring this coffee home, she couldn't bring any of his presents home. She had a pair of $4000 earrings she couldn't wear sitting in her jewelry box because Logan refused to take them back. She had originally thought that she could at least leave things like the flowers and the crystal picture frame on her desk but even that wasn't a possibility anymore since Jess had decided to stop by the office every chance he got. He'd come to take her out to lunch almost everyday and the few days when he hadn't made an appearance at noon he chose to stop by at the end of the day to take her out for a drink.

Of course she could hardly blame Jess for not trusting her around Logan, she could barely trust herself. The truth was, although she was distinctly _un_comfortable with all the gifts, she was growing increasingly comfortable with his presence. She no longer flinched when he would place his hand on her arm or her shoulder or the small of her back or anywhere else he could touch her without being completely inappropriate. She also noticed that the little voice of reason that haunted her when they would lock eyes and stare a little too long, was slowly fading into the background. She tried to tell herself that it was OK to be comfortable around Logan, that it was a good thing. They had to work together after all, things shouldn't be awkward. Now maybe if he would just accept the fact that she was with Jess, they could be friends. Of course deep down she knew that was impossible; she'd never be just friends with Logan. She thought back to the day when they first became an official couple. She had planned on ending things all together, not wanting to push Logan into something he didn't want; she had told him that they should just go back to being friends. Even then, before things had gotten serious, she knew it was a lie. They had never been friends; the sexual tension had followed them like a shadow from the moment they had first argued. No, she would never be just friends with Logan Huntzberger.

Not knowing what else to do with the coffee, she picked it up and brought it to the break room. It looked as though the entire office would be helping Logan on that quest for the world's second best cup of coffee.

"From the fiance?" some girl who's name Rory didn't know asked as she looked from the ring on Rory's left hand to the basket of coffee. Rory tried to keep herself from rolling her eyes. She knew this had been a constant topic of debate around the office for the past two weeks. Everyone was wondering whether the gifts were coming from Jess or Logan. Not that it mattered anyway, the conclusion people came to was the same either way; if the gifts were from Logan it meant she was having an affair with him; if the gifts were from Jess it meant that she was having an affair and Jess suspected and was trying to lay claim to what was his.

That was just another one of the reasons she was annoyed that Logan kept buying her all these things. He was just fueling the fire and he didn't seem to care. People could talk all they wanted, what did it matter, he was used to people talking about him. The only other time she had been the topic of the gossip mills like this was when she'd first started dating Logan. Back then all the girls hated her because she'd "cut in line" now they hated her because she precluded a line. There could be no line as long as Rory was in the picture. So they talked, as people always did when they were jealous. She figured if the girls in the office could have it their way, they'd brand her with a scarlet A.

"I figured I'd share the wealth with the office. What do you think of..." Rory pulled one of the bags out and read the label, "hazelnut, from Brazil?"

Rory thought for a split moment that she had successfully dodged the question but one look at the girl's face told her otherwise. No, the coffee wasn't from her fiance; a Gilmore would never share her coffee if she didn't have to. "Hazelnut from Brazil sounds good," the girl answered with a fake smile. The girl didn't stick around for the coffee though, she immediately left the break room and as Rory watched her leave she noticed the girl walk straight up to one of her friends and whisper something in her ear. She began to turn away, trying not to think about the gossip but something or someone, rather, caught her eye.

Rory walked to the door of the break room for a better look, hoping her eyes were deceiving her; they weren't. This day just couldn't get any worse. She had expected this. She knew he would come around occasionally and that Logan couldn't always protect her from him like he had on Halloween, but seeing him still threw her for a loop. Their eyes caught and he stared at her for a moment, his lips curved into the same smirk his son was famous for, only on him it wasn't nearly as sexy. She felt as though she were three feet tall as he continued to stare at her for what seemed like eternity but was really only a few seconds. He finally turned away to walk towards Logan's office and she felt herself breath again, though she was still far from calm.

Sue noticed her standing in the doorway and she quickly made her way over to her. "Hey, come on," Sue said, grabbing Rory's hand. "Let's go get some coffee."

"I have a whole basket full of coffee," Rory answered mechanically.

"Rory..."

"We shouldn't just leave work in the middle of the day."

"I think we'll be forgiven," Sue replied, tugging on Rory's hand. "Let's go." Rory didn't put up anymore of a fight as she followed Sue to the elevators.

"Hey, where are you two going?" Jenyl, one of the assistant editors asked them as they walked by.

"Out for coffee," Sue told her.

"I don't think so, get back to work," she ordered them.

"Sorry, personal emergency. We'll be back later."

"Unless you're personal emergency involves various body parts being broken or bleeding I don't want to hear about it. In case you didn't notice the senior Huntzberger just made an appearance and I don't want to have to explain staff members mysteriously disappearing."

"I don't think we'll be missed," Sue replied.

"Well I don't know about you, but I'm sure _she'll_ be missed," Jenyl pointed at Rory. "Huntzberger will probably want her around for a good fuck to cheer himself up after daddy dearest leaves," the woman hissed.

Rory knew what everyone was thinking but to actually hear someone come out and say it straight to her face was dumbfounding. She stood there speechless for a moment until she noticed Sue lunging herself at the woman.

"Oh them's fighting words Missy," the red head threatened.

"Sue! Sue! Stop it," Rory threw herself between the two women.

"Didn't you hear what she just said about you?" Sue asked incredulously.

"Oh, I heard. It's not worth starting a fight over though. She's just sore because she can't get into Logan's pants," Rory shot an evil glare over her shoulder at the other woman. "And instead of admitting that the reason she could never be with him is because she's a manipulative, gold-digging, bitch, she decided to make up stories so she could place the blame on me." Rory turned her full attention back to Jenyl. "Green's an ugly color on you. Get over it. Logan's far too good a man to ever settle for the likes of you. But hey, Mitchum's here and manipulative, gold-digging, bitches are exactly _his_ type, so maybe if you're really lucky you can still lay a Huntzberger." Rory grabbed Sue's arm and led her onto the elevator.

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------**

Logan looked up from his papers as the door to his office began to open. He wondered who would brave enough to enter without knocking; the only people in the office who weren't intimidated by him were Rory and Sue. As much as he liked the idea of it being Rory behind the door he wasn't foolish enough to expect that and he knew it wasn't Sue either. His curiosity was peeked but as soon as the door opened fully and he identified his intruder, he was anything but surprised.

"What are you doing here?" he sighed.

"I own this paper," Mitchum replied.

"You own a lot of papers, what makes this one so special?"

"Don't get cute with me, son. I'm certainly not about to hand over this kind of responsibility to you and _not_ check in from time to time. I'll admit you're good at your job but you still have plenty to learn."

"Yes well, you've checked in, everything's running smoothly, and now you can leave," Logan turned his attention back to the paperwork he was going over.

"That's not very polite. I thought you're mother taught you better manners than that," Mitchum returned in a slightly joking tone.

"You mean the nanny taught me better manners. Mom had about as much to do with raising me as you did."

"Touche," Mitchum agreed. "Still, the proper thing to do here would be to invite me to sit. Good business etiquette and all."

"I don't need to invite you to sit, Dad. You'll do as you please anyway," Logan didn't even look up from his work.

"True, true. How about this sofa. Is it a safe place to sit or has it been used for any...after hours activities, perhaps with the lovely Miss Gilmore?" Logan's head shot up at hearing Rory's name. "No, no, of course not. Rory is many things but stupid isn't one of them. She wouldn't be fool enough to fall for your tactics twice, especially not when she's engaged to be married," Mitchum sat on the leather sofa, feeling confident in his assessment.

Logan's eyes narrowed angrily at his father. "You knew," he hissed.

"That she worked here? Of course. I thought you were smarter than that Logan. You really believed I didn't know what was going on? I know everything that happens at my papers. I spent countless hours researching the newspapers in this area before handing the reigns over to you. I've known since the beginning," Mitchum confirmed.

"And the engagement, you knew of that from the beginning as well?" Logan asked, trying to stifle the anger he felt.

"Yes well, Emily could hardly shut up about it; though I'm quite certain she exaggerated the lucky, young man's merits."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Don't play dumb Dad. Why did you choose this paper? I'm sensing it wasn't despite the fact that she worked here but because of it. So why? I know you weren't hoping for some grand reunion. You never would have risked throwing us together if you thought I had a snowball's chance in hell. You never liked Rory. She was intelligent and career driven, two things a Huntzberger's wife should never be, and the exact qualities you tried to stifle when you gave her that internship and ripped her dreams out from under her feet. Most of all you hated that she made me happy," Logan said vehemently.

"Oh please, are people still going on about that internship? Everyone is so convinced that I set out to destroy that girl's career and turn her into the perfect trophy wife for you. If I had really wanted to destroy her career any hopes of a job in journalism would be dead and buried by now. I said what I said because she needed to hear it, end of story. She's a better reporter for it now."

"Oh yes, I'm sure your intentions were completely noble, as always," Logan scoffed. "Just as I'm sure you're intentions in sending me here were nothing less than a noble attempt to reunite me with the love of my life. I'm sure you expected her to fall right back into my arms and forget about her fiance, except wait- you already admitted that you expected nothing of the sort. So that takes me right back to my original question...why? Was it just to see me suffer? To make me miserable? Was it so that I could spend every day just out of reach of the one thing that could make me happy? So that I could wind up as bitter and jaded as you?"

"Of course not," Mitchum scoffed. "If you want to know the real answer to you're question you'll have to ask yourself. You wanted to know why I chose this paper? I didn't choose, you did. I simply presented you with the options."

"But you knew. You knew once I found out about her that there would be no choice. You knew she would be my weakness."

"Exactly Logan, and the only way to overcome your weakness is to face it."

"So this was what? Some sort of test? Some warped form of a life lesson? You can't just play with people's lives like this!" Logan yelled.

"You'll thank me for this some day, Logan. It will help you become a better businessman."

"A better businessman?" Logan asked with disbelief, standing up from behind his desk for emphasis. "How about just helping me become a better man? Isn't that what most father's aim for? But you've never had any interest in that; I was always more your heir than your son. You don't care about anything but this business. You don't care who you hurt as long as it makes you a few dollars. Well you're not only messing with my life here, you're messing with hers. It's sickening."

"I'm not the one messing up her life here. All the problems with her fiance, your doing. All the dirty looks I saw her co-workers giving her out in the newsroom not even ten minutes ago, you're doing as well. You had the opportunity to walk away from this, to let her keep living her life as she was, but you chose not to do that. I'm not the one messing up her life, you are."

Logan opened up his mouth to respond but nothing came out. What was he supposed to say to that? He stared silently at his father for a few moments before sinking back down into his chair. "You're right," he said softly.

"Well, I think that's the first time I've ever heard you admit that," Mitchum responded with a look of smug satisfaction.

"This is my fault. It's all my fault. I'm just as bad as you are. Here I am going on and on about how you'll do whatever it takes to get what you want no matter who you hurt when I'm doing exactly the same thing. I'm trying so hard not to be like you that I'm becoming exactly like you. Well not anymore," Logan said, standing up again. "I have to go talk to her, I have to fix this." Logan headed for the door.

"Where are you going? We're not done here. We haven't even discussed the paper yet," Mitchum boomed.

Logan didn't care. "Make yourself at home, Dad. You will anyway," he said as he exited the office.

Logan stepped out into the newsroom and looked towards Rory's desk, it was empty. "Hey!" he said, stopping the first person to cross his path. "Did you see where Ac...Ms. Gilmore went?" he asked frantically.

The man was practically cowering in front of Logan, it was pathetic. "I...I think I saw her leave with Ms. Hanley s...sir," he stuttered.

"Sue," Logan mumbled to himself. Sue probably took her to get away from his father.

"Y...yes sir. About ten minutes ago. I don't know where they went. I saw them talking with Ms. Flick," he pointed towards Jenyl. "Perhaps she knows where they went."

"Thanks," Logan replied and headed for the woman who had been pointed out to him. "Ms. Flick," he called out as he approached her.

Jenyl turned towards Logan and a sickeningly sweet smile graced her lips. "Please, call me Jenyl."

Logan rolled his eyes. "Ms. Flick," he said again. "Would you happen to know where I could find Ms. Gilmore."

A scowl formed on Jenyl's face but she quickly hid it away again. "Oh, yes. She left a little while ago with her friend...the one with the red hair, oh what is her name again?"

"Sue Hanley," Logan supplied.

"Yes, that's it," she continued on in her sweetest voice. "They mentioned something about coffee and I tried to explain to them that is was inappropriate to leave in the middle of the day but they were very adamant...not to mention quite rude."

"Where would they go for coffee?" he asked impatiently.

"Excuse me?"

Logan let out an annoyed breath and tried again. "Is there a particular place near by that people often go to for coffee?

"Oh, they probably went to the diner on the corner," she replied, brusquely, clearly fed up with talking about Rory.

"Thanks," he replied and turned away but as he did he heard Jenyl mumble something under her breath. "What?" he turned back around.

"Nothing."

"No, I'm quite sure I heard you say something. It seemed to involve Ms. Gilmore's name as well as several derogatory terms."

"I didn't say..."

Logan cut her off. He wasn't in the mood to listen to her excuses. "Let's got something straight, every member of my staff is to be treated with respect. You'll remember that if you intend to keep your job. Your petty jealousy is not an excuse for profanity and slander."

"I am not..."

"Jealous? Of course you are. Not without good reason, Ms. Gilmore is intelligent, talented and beautiful...and no, we're not sleeping together, since I know that's what you think, but if we were it would be none of your goddamn business. I suggest you convey this message to the rest of your colleagues because if I hear anyone talking shit about her again, I can assure you they won't like the consequences," and with that Logan stormed out of the newsroom and went to find Rory.


	20. Searching for the Line

"So," Sue began once they were sitting in the diner

"So," Rory mimicked.

"That was an eventful morning."

"Yes, it's lovely being ambushed by lots of people who hate me for being with Logan even though I'm not with Logan," Rory said with a sigh, thinking of both of the girls from the office as well as Mitchum.

"But on the bright side you didn't have a nervous breakdown and almost walk out into oncoming traffic like you did when you first found out Mitchum Huntzberger was buying the Liberty," Sue reminded her friend.

"Yes, this time I only verbally attacked a co-worker."

"Please, that bitch deserved way worse," Sue assured Rory. "I would have scratched her eyes out if you'd left it up to me. That also would have had the added bonus of her not being able to ogle your man anymore."

"He's _not _my man, Sue. _Jess _is my man," Rory said frustratedly. She knew what Sue was doing.

"So you keep saying."

"Can we not do this now? I'm not in the mood for another one of your 'Logan is so obviously the one for you' speeches."

"Fine, but only because you're upset about Mitchum right now...hey is that what this is about, his family not liking you?" Sue asked.

"How do you do that?" Rory asked with a shake of her head.

"Do what?"

"Agree to not talk about something and a start talking about it in the same sentence? I think that's a record, even for you."

"Hmm, it could be, although I'm known for my short attention span so you never know. So is it?"

"Is it what?" Rory asked, getting confused by the conversation.

"And here I thought I was the one with the short attention span," Sue mocked. "Is Mitchum the reason you won't give Logan a chance?"

"This isn't about Mitchum, not really anyhow."

"Not really? What's that mean?" Sue asked. She tried to hide her excitement; it looked like she was finally getting somewhere.

"It just means that...Logan."

"Yes...that is who we're talking about," Sue replied hesitantly, giving Rory a strange look. Her sentence wasn't really making a whole lot of sense.

"No, he just walked in," Rory pointed to the door.

Sue looked over her shoulder and sure enough Logan was standing there; he sure had bad timing. Rory was finally about to confide something to her and he walks in and breaks it up. "Hmm, so he is," Sue replied, trying to hide her annoyance.

"Usually his father spends a much longer time berating him."

"Well maybe Mitchum is lightening up."

"Hah! That's a good one."

Logan finally reached their table. "Hey ladies," he greeted.

"Hi," they both responded.

"Sue, do you mind?" Logan motioned back and forth between him and Rory.

"Not at all, I'll just leave you two alone," Sue said as she stood up from her seat and gave Logan a knowing look that did not escape Rory's notice. She decided to let it be for now.

"I'll see you later, Sue," Rory told her friend.

"Bye, don't do anything I wouldn't do," she responded with a wink and walked away. Rory shook her head and let a small grin appear on her face.

Logan sat down in Sue's vacated seat.

"Hi," he said awkwardly, this wasn't going to be an easy conversation.

"Hi," she replied.

"I think we need to talk."

"You mean you didn't come for the coffee?" Rory joked.

"No, but now that you mention it, I could use some coffee," he reached across the table to grab Rory's cup.

"Hey," she yelped, slapping his hand. "No touchy."

Logan laughed. "Kidding, I know better than to steal a Gilmore girl's coffee," he assured her.

"So young Skywalker, is Darth Vader gone yet?" Rory asked jokingly.

Logan sighed, "I'm sorry about that, Ace. I swear I didn't know he was coming or I would have given you a head's up."

"It's not your fault, Logan. It's his paper now; he can come by whenever he wants. I shouldn't have just run off like I did. It was just a really bad morning and I wasn't expecting it. He just caught me off guard is all."

"Don't worry about it. I've been running from him my whole life, so I certainly can't blame anyone else for doing the same thing," he replied with a wink.

"OK than, everything's good," she assured him with a smile.

Logan bit his lip nervously. "No," he answered, after his run in with Jenyl he was even more sure he had to do this. He didn't know how he let things get so bad for her around the office, and as much as he wanted her relationship with Jess to end, if she wasn't going to break up with him, he was only making things bad for her at home too.

"Huh?" What was he talking about? Was there something besides Mitchum he needed to talk to her about?

"I'm really sorry, Rory."

"We just did the apology thing."

"No, not about Dad, though I'm definitely sorry for him too. I'm sorry for me."

"I'm not really following here Logan," she admitted.

"I haven't been listening to you. You asked me not to buy the paper and I went ahead and bought it anyway. You told me that you were happy with Jess and that you were going to marry him and I didn't accept it. I should have believed you, even if you were lying, I should have believed you and respected your wishes. Instead I've been doing everything I can think of to mess things up for you just so I could have you for myself."

"Logan..." Rory broke in.

"No, let me just say this," he pleaded. Rory sighed and let him continue. "I love you Rory, you know that I love you, but that's all the more reason I have to do this. I have to let you go. I mean, I know I can't do that completely. What's done is done and I can't un-buy the paper. We're still going to have to work together but I promise you from now on that I'll keep things completely professional," he forced the words out of his mouth.

"My turn now?" Rory asked, once Logan stopped speaking.

Logan smiled and nodded, "Yeah, your turn now."

"You've had so many things in your life that were determined for you before you were even born, Logan. You don't get to make a lot of decisions in your life and so when you find something that y_ou _want, you go after it. I love that about you. I love that you fight for what you want. Even if we can't be together, I don't want you to change who you are. I want you to be you. Now granted, I don't know what you've been thinking with all the presents, because I _know _that you know that you can't change my mind with material things; if I wanted you for your money you wouldn't want me. I'm also not saying that you shouldn't back off a little and let me make my own decision here, but we both care about each other and there's no reason that we need to cut one another off completely, or as completely as possible given the circumstances. I like having you in my life again Logan; I don't want you to let me go."

"So what you're saying here is 'can't we all just get along?' 'Give peace a chance' and all that jazz?"

Rory laughed a little, "Yeah, that's what I'm saying."

Logan smiled at her across the table for a moment before his expression darkened again. "I don't think so Rory."

"What? Why not?" Rory was shocked.

"I just don't think I can do that. It's going to be hard enough to work with you. I don't think I can handle having you in my life and not _having _you in my life."

"So that's it then? We're just going to go back to the office, you'll make the requisite comments on my work, edit my articles, we'll exchange the occasional pleasantries and the rest of the time we'll just ignore each other and pretend there was never anything between us?"

"I guess so," he said sadly.

"Well than, I suppose we should get back to work," Rory replied with just a tinge of ice in her voice.

"I should," Logan said, standing up, "But you should take the rest of the day off. I'm not sure how much longer he'll be there"

"No, I don't need any special treatment. I'm just like any other employee, remember," She bit back angrily as she too stood up from her seat.

"Ace," he pleaded, he didn't want her to be upset.

"Don't 'Ace' me. You don't get to call me that anymore Logan, it's the way _you_ want it."

Logan cringed a little at that. She was really angry. She would get over it, though. She would get over this a lot faster then she would get over the jealous fiancé and the jealous co-workers and the accusations of adultery and the evil looks he knew people had been giving her lately. She would get over it, but would he? God, she looked beautiful when she was angry.

Fine, there's just one more thing," he told her.

"Oh yeah, and what's that?"

"This," he said as he took a step towards her. He reached his arm out and snaked it around her waist pulling her towards him. His lips crashed down onto hers. This kiss was tender but passionate. Logan had both the fortune and misfortune of knowing this would be the last time they kissed and it had to be perfect. It was filled with a sense of need, not physical need like the kiss on the elevator, but emotional need. He needed her to know how he felt. He needed her to know that even though he was letting her go that she would always be with him. They stayed in their embrace for as long as possible until air became of dyer need. He finally pulled back, letting go of her waist.

Rory stood there in stunned silence, just staring at him open mouthed. What the heck had just happened? He told her he was going to stay away and then he kissed her? And all she could think of was how amazing it felt and how it would never happen again. She didn't know what to say.

"So... that's it then," Logan said, taking a few small steps backwards, his eyes never leaving hers. "I'll stay out of your life now. And if by some miracle, you change your mind anyway, you know where to find me." He turned and left the restaurant leaving a still stunned Rory behind.

------

Logan walked briskly down the street towards the office until he heard someone shouting his name from behind. He stopped and turned around. "What do you want Sue?" he asked the flustered red head.

"What the hell just happened?" she asked him.

"You know exactly what happened, Sue," he told her frustratedly.

"No I don't," she replied defensively.

"Yes, you do. You were hiding in a booth two tables away. You heard every word we said."

"Oh, you noticed that did you?" she asked sheepishly.

"I saw you on my way out."

"Still, you two need to learn how to project. I had to fill a lot of blanks in with my imagination."

"Sue," he said warningly.

"Fine, let me rephrase my question. Why the hell did that just happen?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you promised. You promised you wouldn't give up on her. We both know how stubborn she is but you're the one she really wants. You can't walk away from her, she can't marry Jess. He's an OK guy and all but she'll never be happy with him. She does a damn good job of pretending and I used to think she was happy with him, but I never truly saw her happy until I saw her with you," Sue babbled.

"If she's meant to be with me she'll figure it out on her own, and if she's not...well then I'm willing to be miserable so she can be happy."

"Did you not just hear a word I said? She's happy with _you_."

Logan sighed. Sue was ridiculously pushy, he knew that. She was kind of like Paris in that sense, only without being mean. He guessed Rory really did like people who knew what they wanted and went after it, and Sue wanted Rory and Logan to be together. He respected that but right now he just wished Sue could understand.

"You say that she really wants me, that she's just scared, well I've finally figured out what she's scared of," Logan began.

"You have? What is it?" Sue asked eagerly. It was the missing piece of the puzzle, the thing that stood in the way of her friend's happiness.

"It's the same thing I'm scared of."

"That doesn't really help me unless you tell me what you're scared of," Sue reminded him.

"Did she ever tell you that she made the first move?" Logan asked.

"Stop being cryptic Huntzberger. What does this have to do with anything?"

"I knew I wanted her from the moment she opened her mouth and put me in my place. I wanted her and she hated me," he said, smiling at the memories. "But I was Logan Huntzberger and I got what I wanted, so I weaseled my way into her life. The only thing is, I never made a move. I wanted to be a part of her life but I knew it could only be as her friend, if you can even call the relationship we had a friendship- mostly we just bickered and pissed each other off. Thinking back, fighting was pretty much like foreplay for us," he laughed a little at the thought.

"OK, as much as I want to hear this story, and I really do," Sue said sincerely, "I'm not exactly sure what the point is."

"I was always the guy who went after what he wanted and got it. Only that time I didn't- and the funny thing is, I think I wanted her more than I'd ever wanted anything up to that point in my life. It wasn't because I was scared. I was a cocky SOB and I don't think that for even one second I thought I couldn't have her if I really put my mind to it. No, the reason I didn't do anything about my feelings was because I knew I was bad for her. I knew I couldn't be the kind of guy she needed. I'd never done commitment before and I wasn't ready to give it a try, so I knew I'd only end up hurting her. So that's the difference. Back then I knew where to draw the line- yes, I went after what I wanted but I put the people I cared about first. I've lost the line, Sue. I don't know where it is anymore," Logan said desperately.

"So you're scared you're going to hurt her? That's fairly vague."

"I'm not scared I'm going to hurt her, I'm already hurting her, don't you see?"

"So than what _are_ you scared of? What is _she _scared of? I can't make her see that she's wrong if I don't know what it is that she's wrong about," Sue pleaded. She just wanted to make things right.

"You can't _make_ her see anything, and that's not your job. This is our thing and we need to deal with it on our own. I appreciate your help and your support and I know she does too but ultimately, we need to figure this out on our own. Besides, who ever said she was wrong?"

"She has to be," Sue said though she wasn't so sure of herself anymore.

"She doesn't have to be anything. The way I see it, it could go either way right now. The only way I can prove her wrong, is to do what I'm doing, is to step back and give her some space. I need to do this, for her and for me. I don't want to be that guy, the one who will step all over people to get his way."

"Logan," Sue said reassuringly. "I know I haven't known you that long yet but I can definitely tell you that you are _not_ that guy. You care about people, you _love_ Rory, and you have a really big heart. You are _not _that guy."

"Maybe not yet, but I could be."

"Logan," Sue tried again.

"I need to go back to the office Sue, and you need to go check on Rory for me. Please, just go make sure she's OK."

Sue sighed. "If you're really sure about this..."

"I am," he promised.


	21. The Never Ending Day Continues

Sue walked back into the dinner and sure enough Rory was still there. She was quite literally sitting on the edge of her seat, a look of shock still upon her face. Sue slid into the booth next to her a gently laid a hand upon her shoulder. "You OK hun?" she asked.

"He kissed me," Rory said, still staring straight ahead,

"He _what?_" Sue asked. Logan hadn't mentioned that and since she had only been able to listen in and not see what was going on, this news was a surprise to her. So that was the "one more thing" Logan had been referring to. She thought she just hadn't heard what he said but apparently he hadn't _said_ anything at all.

"He kissed me and then he just walked away."

"Well..." Sue tried to think of what to say next. "Was it a good kiss?"

This seemed to rouse Rory from her daze. "Sue!" she said reproachfully.

"Right, sorry." Apparently that wasn't the right thing to say except at that moment a small smile began to play at the corners of Rory's mouth.

"It was a _really_ good kiss," she admitted.

"I thought so. He looks like a guy who knows the right way to use his tongue," Sue said jokingly.

"Oh he is, and don't think that just means kissing," Rory responded with a smirk.

"Rory Gilmore! Being overtly dirty, I'm very impressed," Sue remarked and both girls began to laugh.

"Oh that felt good," Rory said once the giggles had subsided. "I think I really needed to laugh right now."

"Laugh but to keep from weeping," Sue said.

"Exactly."

"I get it."

Rory smiled at her friend. "I know you do Sue, I know you do."

"Alright than, if a good laugh is what you need, a good laugh is what you'll get," she asserted. "Let's go find a paper and see what the stupidest movie playing is." Sue grabbed Rory's hand and stood up.

"We can't go to a movie. It's 10 o'clock on a Monday, we have to go back to work."

"You really think you're going to work today?

"I have to, I have a job to keep," Rory insisted.

"Yes, and you're boss gave you the day off." Sue immediately regretted saying this. Logan had known she was listening in but as far as she knew, Rory didn't.

Apparently Rory was too preoccupied to notice Sue's slip-up. "No, he doesn't get to have to both ways," she said angrily. "He can't just say he wants to pretend like we never happened and then try and give me special treatment. Not that I want special treatment anyway but especially not now."

"I don't think he wants to pretend you never happened," Sue insisted.

"You weren't here Sue. You don't know what happened."

Sue tried to stifle her laughter to that statement, she had no idea. "You'd be surprised," she said with a smile.

"Huh?"

"Nothing." Sue dismissed. "Tell me what happened," she requested more seriously, sitting back down. She wanted to hear Rory's take on it.

"He said he's going to stay out of my life." Rory followed Sue's lead and sat again. "He said it's all business from now on. I said I wanted to try and be friends but he said no."

"Mmhmm, and do you really think that would work? Being friends?"

"Of course it won't work, but that doesn't mean I don't want to _try._"

"Right, but don't you think that's just going to make it harder for both of you? The constant reminder of what you can't have? And then you get to go home to Jess but he's stuck going home to a cold shower and his right hand."

Rory rolled her eyes at the crude image. "Please he can have any woman he wants."

"He wants _you_."

"He'll find someone else," Rory insisted but she was surprised at how wrong that felt. She wanted him to be happy but the thought of him with someone else was horrible.

"If you say so," Sue said dismissively. "So what else happened?"

"That was pretty much the jist of it."

"What about the kiss?"

"It was a good-bye kiss, Sue, that's all," Rory insisted.

"Hmm, and you're sure you're not just saying that to make it easier on yourself?" Rory didn't know how to respond to that so she just glared angrily at her friend to let her know it was time to drop the subject. Sue obliged. "Right, so about that movie..."

"Sue, I told you..." Rory began but Sue cut her off.

"So you'll count it against your personal days. That's not special treatment, everyone gets personal days."

Rory couldn't argue with that logic. "Fine," she relented.

"Good, so are we still looking for a good laugh or have we moved on to a good cry?" Sue asked as she grabbed a paper someone had left on the next table which hadn't been cleared off yet.

Rory thought for a moment before answering. "Laugh, definitely laugh. I'm sick of crying."

"You got it hun, let's see what's playing."

--------------------------------

Logan rode the elevator up to the newsroom. He wondered if his father was still there or not, though he wasn't sure which scenario he'd prefer. There were some more things he wanted to discuss with Mitchum but he didn't know if he could handle that conversation just yet. Mostly he just wanted to go hide in his office and pretend that morning had never occurred. He wasn't sure how he was going to handle staying away from Rory when every fiber of his being just wanted to be as close to her as humanly possible.

Stepping off the elevator, Logan groaned. A group of girls were standing around someone's desk and he didn't even want to think about what they were talking about that assembled such a crowd, though he had a pretty good idea. He thought he'd made his point crystal clear that morning but apparently he had women working for him that were stupid as well as bitchy and Jenyl Flick was one of them. On the bright side he was sure his father had left the office; it would take something beyond stupidity to waste time conspicuously gossiping when Mitchum Huntzberger was near by.

"Hello ladies, am I interrupting something?" he asked, his best society mask plastered on his face. As he pushed his way into the group he wasn't surprised to find Jenyl sitting at the desk in question. Apparently the woman didn't take rejection well and decided to retaliate by spreading more nasty gossip.

"Oh we were just..." Jenyl faltered.

"You were just spreading the message I left with you this morning?" he asked with fake naivety.

"Yes, that's it," she agreed.

"Of course because I'm sure you're far to smart to directly disobey me and spread _more _gossip, especially on company..." Logan trailed off as he noticed something on the desk. The corner of a very familiar piece of personalized stationary stuck out from beneath a small stack of other papers. "What the hell is this?" he asked, grabbing for the paper and trying to temper his fury.

"Oops," Jenyl said innocently.

"Oops? You break into someone else's desk and steal their private property and all you have to say his 'oops'?" he growled.

"I was looking for some paper clips and they were just there," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

"So you thought to yourself, 'hey let's take them with me and read them to the whole fucking office'? Are you really that much of a vindictive bitch or are you just a klepto?" he spat.

"I just figured the whole office had a right to know about the sexual harassment that was occurring," she was still speaking in her sickeningly sweet voice and it only pissed Logan off more, if that were even possible.

"You're seriously on crack, aren't you?" he asked, unable to believe that people could actually be like that.

"I may be on crack, but it's your girlfriend who's the ho," she retaliated, finally succumbing to her true personality.

"Shut the fuck up," he ordered, slamming his hand on the desk.

"Why? I'm sure I'm already fired so I might as well speak my mind."

"You're damn straight you're fired but if you think that's the worst thing I can do to you then you clearly have no idea what the name Huntzberger means."

"I always knew you were one of those arrogant asses who uses his last name to get the world to bend to his every whim."

"Piss me off enough and you have no idea what I'm capable of," he assured her.

"Hmm, I figured you'd be in a better mood than you were this morning," Jenyl said, looking Logan up and down. "Most men are after they've gotten laid..." Logan was shaking with fury; if he thought he could stoop as low as to hit a girl this woman would be seriously hurting. "Oh you don't _really _expect me to still believe you when you say you're not screwing her," she continued. "Why else would you tell her you love her if it's not to get her in the sack? And 'Ace'? I'm sure it's some sick reference to her sexual prowess; she's probably got tons of experience."

"I really hope for your sake that you didn't enjoy working in journalism," Logan growled. "I suggest you hand over the rest of the notes and start looking for a new career."

"Here you go," she said, handing over a stack of papers and standing up. "Expect to hear from my lawyer, I fully intend on filing a wrongful termination suit."

"Really?" he asked scornfully, "You think McDonald's will pay you enough to hire a lawyer for a bogus law suit?"

Jenyl just picked up her purse and walked off in a huff. Logan looked around at the women who had been surrounding the desk. They had backed away but were still near by. They had been too scared to stay but too curious to leave. "Anyone else have anything else to say to me?" he asked them. No one said anything. "I didn't think so; get back to work."

--------------------------------

Sue and Rory took their seats at the movie theater. They were armed with massive amounts of junk food. The man at the counter had looked at them like they were certifiable for purchasing so much candy at 10:30 in the morning but what was a movie without tons of candy? Just as they finished situating themselves Sue's cell phone went off. Rory looked at her friend disapprovingly. "Having your cell phone on at a movie? Next thing you know you'll be littering. Am I going to have to get the dancing trashcans to have a talk with you?" she joked.

"Sure, just slip me a couple of 'shrooms, that should get them to make an appearance," Sue looked down at the caller ID on her cell phone and looked back up at Rory. "I have to take this, I'll be right back."

As Sue walked back up the aisle to the lobby she flipped her phone open "Just a sec," she told the person on the other line. "OK, coast is clear," she said into her phone once she was out of the theater. "What's up?

She listened to her caller for a second. "What kind of problem?" she asked worriedly.

"Umm, I think in the top drawer of her desk, why?" she responded after another moment.

"Shit, that's bad...who the hell would do something like that?" she asked and when she heard the answer her anger doubled. "That fucking bitch, I knew I should have kicked the shit out of her this morning after what she said to Rory...Don't ask, but don't worry, our dear friend sure gave that ho a piece of her mind."

Sue listened in as he described exactly what happened. "Good, I'm pretty sure I'd kill that skank if I ever saw her again so you saved me from some major prison time...Just keep them for now, I'll see what she wants to do with them. Thanks, we'll see you tomorrow. Bye." Sue hung up the phone and headed back into the theater. How the hell was she supposed to tell Rory about this? She was going to freak. Sighing deeply, she walked back to the seats.

"What did Logan want?" Rory asked before Sue had a chance to speak. "Checking up on me already? Only he can't do it himself so he's going through you now?"

"What makes you think..."

"Please," Rory scoffed before Sue could finish her sentence. "You think I'm stupid? You think I didn't know the two of you are in cahoots?"

"What?" Sue asked incredulously.

"Don't try and deny it Sue."

"Oh, I wasn't denying it, I'm just trying to wrap my head around the fact that you just used the word 'cahoots' in a serious conversation."

Rory smiled. "There is no vocabulary word that doesn't have its place in everyday conversation, even stupid ones."

Sue laughed. "So you're not mad at me?"

"Nah, I'm used to you meddling in my life. It's who you are and I wouldn't love you if you were any different."

"Good," Sue replied seriously. "Now just remember the part where you love me when you hear what I'm about to say."

"That is _not_ a promising start to a conversation," Rory stated the obvious.

"Well...you were right about that being Logan, only he wasn't calling to check up, he was calling because there was kind of an incident at the office."

"What kind of incident?" Rory asked, afraid to hear the answer.

"Well, there's good news and there's bad news," Sue informed her.

"Oh there's good news?" Rory asked, trying to look on the bright side. "Let's start with that."

"OK, remember our dear friend from this morning, Miss Bitchy McBitcherton?"

"Of course, lovely woman," Rory said sarcastically. "What about her?"

"Canned."

"Logan fired her?" Rory asked, wide eyed. "What'd she do?"

"You mean besides implying that you were nothing more than a sex toy for the boss?" Sue answered angrily.

"Yes, besides that."

"OK, well here in lies the bad news."

"I figured."

Sue took a deep breath. "Did you remember to lock the top drawer of your desk today?"

"What does that have to do with...NO!" Rory said, her eyes going wide with shock.

"Yes."

"No!"

"Rory..."

"No! No no no no no. This can't be happening. Those notes were private, they were personal, they were _mine_," Rory gasped. "Did she...I mean does _everyone?"_

"Yeah," Sue confirmed hesitantly. "She shared them."

"But...but he called me 'Ace', he signed them _'love'_, I mean the presents were more of a nuisance than anything but the notes- they said something about me, about _us_, they were..." Rory trailed off, her extensive vocabulary failing her.

"Intimate?" Sue ventured.

"Yes," she admitted somewhat shamefully. "And now everyone knows."

"Well, he got them all back and it sounds like there was quite the scene so I doubt anyone will be stupid enough to bring it up if that makes you feel any better," Sue tried to comfort her friend.

"Not really."

"I didn't think so," Sue paused before asking her next question. "Do you want them back?"

Rory bit her lip nervously and Sue knew the answer to her question without having to hear a response. "I thought so," Sue said, giving her friend a big hug. "I'll get them from him tomorrow.

"Thanks Sue," Rory smiled shyly.

"Anytime. Now hush, it's time to watch the movie," Sue pointed at the screen as the lights in the theater dimmed. The two of them sat quietly, eagerly anticipating the slap stick comedy that awaited them.

------------------------------

Logan stepped into the hallway in front of his apartment and dug into his coat pocket looking for his keys. He was thoroughly exhausted and he had considered just sleeping at the office...again, but one more night on that sofa and he'd be handing his fortune over to the chiropractor. He had spent almost every night for the past week sleeping at the office. A week, that's how long it had been since that awful day with his father and the letters and the last kiss. Seven days since he'd said a word to Rory. He only came out of his office when it was absolutely necessary and he would have other people bring her the edited copies of her articles; he did everything he could to avoid seeing her, speaking with her, because he knew that it wouldn't take very much to crack his resolve and he had to stay strong. Being in the office was hard during the day when she was there but it was easy at night when he could just work himself until he passed out. But tonight he would have to sleep in his bed- his big, empty, depressing bed- at least if he wanted to maintain the ability to stand upright.

Logan put the key in the lock and began to open the door but stopped when he heard a sound from within. So much for the security in the building. He debated whether or not to enter, what if the person inside was armed? He grabbed his cell phone and prepared to dial 911 and he turned the door knob and swung the door open slowly.

Taking in the site before him he shook his head in amusement. "You know polite people call before they break and enter," he said with a laugh.

----------------------

**AN: Gee, I wonder who could be in Logan's apartment ;) (psst, leave a review)**


	22. Friends in Low Places

_Taking in the site before him he shook his head in amusement. "You know polite people call before they break and enter," he said with a laugh._

"Hey! We did not break in," Colin said with mock indignation, looking up from the game of pool he and Finn were engaged in.

"Oh no?" Logan asked with a raised brow.

"That's right mate," Finn replied, "We stole the spare key before you left and had a copy made."

Logan laughed at his two best friends. "And how'd you get past the doorman?" he asked them.

"Nothing a hefty bribe couldn't take care of," Colin said with wave of the hand as though it were no big deal.

Logan smiled broadly, his friends could always cheer him up and he definitely needed some cheering. _Nothing seems as bad after Finn's Passion of the Christ...except Finn's passion of the Christ_. Logan thought to himself, remembering what he told Rory all that time ago when she broke up with Dean.

"So what are you guys doing here?" Logan asked as he collapsed on a chair across from the pool table.

"Well Thanksgiving's in a couple of days mate."

"And the options were come here or spend the holiday with your family?" Logan asked with a raised brow.

"Exactly," Colin confirmed.

"I personally wanted to have Thanksgiving at Colin's house...the new Mom is _hot_," Finn chimed in, turning himself around so his back was to the pool table; he hopped up and took a seat.

"But Colin wasn't having any of that," Logan added, knowing how his friend felt about his family.

"Hell no, man," Colin exclaimed. "I was out of New Haven the second classes ended." Colin was in his second year of law school and hated every minute of it; actually it wasn't the law he hated, it was divorce law and that was the career he was destined to. The irony that his father was so great at both divorce law and divorcing wasn't lost on him. "So," Colin added, taking a seat across from Logan. "Fill us in on your life, we haven't heard from you in a few weeks."

"Ooh, yeah, any hot sheila's in your life you'd be willing to share? Perhaps a red head or two?" Finn asked suggestively.

Colin shot a backwards glance at his friend, "We've been through this Finn," he said shaking his head bemusedly, " Logan's given up on all the bunny's, trying to win back the lovely Rory."

Logan groaned at the thought of his Ace, he'd finally gotten his mind off of her for a moment and the guys had to bring it right back up again.

"Who's Rory?" Finn asked, narrowing his eyes, trying to remember.

"How much has he had to drink so far?" Logan asked Colin.

"Four or five glasses of whiskey, I think."

"Oh, so he's only mildly drunk," Logan replied.

"Yeah, give him a couple more glasses and he'll start remembering," Colin explained. The fact that Finn became more cognizant with increasing amounts of alcohol never ceased to amaze them but they had simply learned to accept it as a fact of life. Colin turned his attention back to Finn and tried to explain, "Rory Gilmore..." Colin began but Finn didn't show any signs of recognition, "Richard and Emily's grand daughter..." nothing. "Only girl to ever tame the beast," Colin tried, pointing at Logan but Finn's face remained blank. Colin sighed and tried one more time, "Reporter Girl."

"Reporter Girl?" Finn asked with glee. "I _loved _Reporter Girl. Lovely sheila, haven't seen her since before graduation. I wonder what she's up to."

"Why don't you ask her yourself," Logan suggested.

"What? Is she here?" Finn asked excitedly. "You sly dog."

Logan sighed, "No Finn, not here."

"She works for Logan," Colin explained to his drunken friend for the hundredth time over the past couple of months.

"And when you say work..." Finn began in a suggestive tone.

"At the paper, Finn," Logan said a little too angrily. He knew Finn was only joking but the innuendo still bothered him.

"Oh, so nothing kinky then?" Finn asked disappointedly.

"Well I don't know about that..." Colin began, looking at Logan, waiting for details.

"No, nothing kinky," Logan responded with exasperation in his voice.

"Still with that asshole?" Colin asked.

"What asshole?" Finn butted in.

Colin just sighed, not surprised by the question. He leaned his head back but didn't actually turn to look at Finn. "She's engaged, Finn."

"Wait, mate's getting married? How come no one told me? I have to start practicing for my best man duties. I have to plan the bachelor party."

Logan wanted to cry, not literally of course, Logan Huntzberger didn't cry, but this conversation was getting seriously depressing. Why did he have to walk in on Finn in the forgetful stage of his drunkenness? Rehashing everything that was going on was just too much.

"I'm sorry man," Colin said to Logan as though reading his mind. He turned himself back to Finn. " Logan is not getting married and if he were _I_ would be the best man."

"But you just said he and Reporter Girl were engaged, and I would _soooo _be the best man."

"No, I said _she_ was engaged," then Colin added in a softer tone, "to someone else." He let the best man argument drop.

"But she's Logan's girl," Finn exclaimed. "Where's the bastard that's marrying my best mate's girl. I'll kill 'im."

"It's OK Finn," Logan told him. "She made her choice. I accept that."

"Wait! Did you just say that you've accepted that the love of your life is marrying someone else?" Colin asked, clearly not believing.

"Yes."

"And you expect us to believe you."

"Yes." Colin just stared at Logan until Logan couldn't take it anymore. "Fine," he yelled. "I don't accept it. I hate it. I have to see her everyday knowing I'll never be with her again. He shows up all the time to take her out to lunch and I think I'd rather poke my own eyes out then see them together. I've never been so miserable in my whole entire life. Are you happy?" He cried out desperately and finished by burying his face in his hands.

"So what are you going to do about it?"

Logan looked up from his hands and shook his head, "Nothing. I'm not going to do anything," he admitted.

"So the mighty Logan Huntzberger's just going to give up?" Colin asked disappointedly.

"That's pathetic mate." Finn added.

"You guys don't understand."

"Well then explain it to us," Colin suggested.

"I can't do this right now guys. I'm going to go take a shower. I don't think I need to tell you to makes yourselves at home." Logan said, standing up and walking off towards the bathroom.

"Fine, but we're not finished with the conversation. This miserable Huntzberger is no fun and we fully intend on doing something about it." Colin called after him.

When Logan was gone from ear shot Colin turned back to Finn. "That boy seriously needs our help."

"Seriously," Finn agreed, "So what's the plan?"

----------------------------------------------

"Can I have some alcohol now?" Finn whined. He and Colin were on the elevator, going to visit the Liberty Herald.

"No, you made me promise not to let you drink anything until after the talk," Colin reminded him.

"Right...and why was that again?"

Colin sighed. "Probably so you don't forget who we're talking to."

"No, that wasn't it..." Finn said, deep in thought. "I think I just wanted to do something drastic."

"Well you being sober is definitely drastic," Colin agreed.

"This is serious, mate. Logan needs us."

"But he doesn't want us to..."

"But he _needs _us to," Finn said.

"You know what, you're right. I don't know why I'm having second thoughts about this. So Logan told us to drop it, that's not what he really wants. He's being an idiot and it's our job as his best friends to make this right," Colin rationalized.

"Exactly, and since it seems we can't talk any sense into Logan..."

"We'll just have to talk some sense into Rory, now get ready, this is the floor." The two stepped off the elevator and into the bustling newsroom. Scanning the room, Colin spotted Rory sitting at her desk at the far end of the floor. "This way," he said, leading Finn towards her. Half way across the room Finn suddenly veered off to the left. "Finn! Finn, where are you going?" he called after the Aussie. Colin rushed after him and once he caught up he saw what had drawn his friend's attention. "Oh no you don't."

"But...but..." Finn stuttered like a small child.

"No! Do you remember what Logan told you about the pretty red head last night?"

Finn pouted dramatically, crossing his arms over his chest. "_Don't even think about hitting on the pretty red head. She's Ace's best friend and she's taken." _Finn quoted.

"Precisely. Besides, we're on a mission. There's no time for detours."

"Fine," Finn sulked but turned back around and proceeded to Rory's desk. Once there the two men stood silently for a few moments waiting for their presence to be noted.

When they'd had enough of being ignored, Colin spoke up. "You know, a good reporter should be more aware of what's going on around her."

Rory finally looked up from her computer screen and squealed in glee at the site of the two people standing before her. "Colin? Finn? Oh My God! What are you doing here?" she jumped up from her seat, running around the desk to give her visitors a hug.

"We're here to see you, love," Finn said, as though it were obvious.

"You came all the way to Philadelphia to see lil ol' me?" she asked skeptically.

"Well, OK no. We came to Philadelphia to see Logan but we came _here_ to see you," Colin corrected.

"Oh really?" Rory asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course, we wanted to take our favorite Reporter Girl out for dinner."

Rory smiled but shook her head. "I appreciate the offer Finn but I think Jess is expecting me and..."

"Jess? That's the lucky man who's won your heart?" Colin asked, trying to fake sincerity. He'd never met Jess but that didn't mean he couldn't hate him. He was allowed, no expected, to hate him simply because he was with Logan's girl. It didn't matter what had happened or how long it had been or how much Logan insisted he just wanted Rory to be happy, as far as Colin was concerned Rory would _always_ be Logan's girl; those two were meant for each other.

"Yeah," Rory confirmed.

"Come on, he gets you every night. You can spare a night for two old friends, can't you," Colin continued.

"Well..." Rory hesitated. "It might be kind of awkward; things with Logan and me are..."

"Who said anything about Logan?" Finn asked.

"Well I just assumed."

"You know what happens when you assume, love." Rory rolled her eyes at Finn.

"Rory Gilmore, have you been holding out on me? Who are the new hotties?" Sue's voice broke into the conversation. Finn looked over at the voice and laid eyes on a gorgeous red head. He was practically drooling.

"Sue!" she greeted her friend. "This is Colin, and that's Finn," she introduced. "They're Logan's best friends."

"I'm insulted love? Is that all we are to you? Logan's friends."

"Of course not, Finny. You're my friend's too," she assured him, giving both the boys a peck on the cheek.

"Good, because the last we saw of you we were schlepping your things out of your grandparents' house and I'd hate to think that you were just using us."

"Oh Finn," she replied in a truly apologetic voice. "I never wanted to stop talking to you guys, I love you two. I just didn't want to cause any trouble between friends."

"Ahh well, you're forgiven. No straight man can look into those Bambi eyes of yours and stay mad; now back to this gorgeous creature standing next to me," Finn turned to Sue. "Finnegan Morgan, at your service." He took Sue's hand in his and lifted it to his mouth, laying a gentle kiss on the back of her palm. Finn suddenly felt something come down hard on his foot. "Ow mate, what was that?" he looked over at Colin who had just stepped on his foot.

"Off limits," Colin hissed.

"What was that?" Sue laughed.

Rory shook her head at the boy's antics. "I have a feeling Finn was warned," Rory informed Sue.

"Warned? About what? Why would he be warned?"

"Well you see, my dear Australian friend here has a thing for red heads,' Rory explained. "So I'm guessing Logan had the foresight to let him know you were taken but Finn has a horrible memory, one too many brain cells lost to his precious alcoholic beverages, so Colin was just reminding him. Isn't that right boys?"

Colin just shook his head and smiled. "Excuse out friend," he told Sue, "He just takes a little getting used to. He's completely harmless, I swear."

"Aww, I think he's cute," Sue offered.

"You hear that? She thinks I'm cute," Finn said proudly, standing up a little straighter and puffing up his chest. Everyone laughed. Finn scowled at the group but didn't let it deter him. "So Sue, we were just discussing taking the lovely Rory out to dinner. How would you like to join us?"

"Finn, what did Logan say?" Colin hissed in his friend's ear. Finn pulled Colin aside and whispered something to him.

"Are they up to something?" Sue asked Rory.

"Always, I'm sure we'll figure out what it is soon enough. You really should come to dinner with us though, it'll be fun."

"Well I don't want to intrude," Sue offered but only because she knew Rory would insist that she wasn't. Sue was highly intrigued by the pair of men standing before them and her reporter instincts wanted to find out more.

"So ladies," Colin said walking back to the desk, "Are we ready to go?"

Sue looked at Rory for confirmation and Rory nodded her approval. "Just let me get my purse and call Jess to let him know I won't be home for dinner."

Colin and Finn nodded their heads in triumph. Things were going well so far and it looked like they might even have a little extra help.

------------------------------------------------

The group sat around the table in the restaurant rattling off their drink orders to the waiter. "And for you sir?" the man asked as he reached Finn. Colin shot a pointed look at Finn letting him know it wasn't time to drink yet.

"Just a water for me," Finn said sadly.

Rory looked on in confusion. "Is he alright?" she asked Colin. "Should we call a doctor?"

Colin shook his head nonchalantly, "No, he's just taking it easy on the alcohol tonight."

"And I repeat, is he alright? Should we call a doctor?"

"Hey, I don't _always_ drink," Finn said. Rory just looked at him. "Well, I can change," Finn tried but Rory wasn't swayed. "For the love of god woman, I'm fine. I'll have a drink later."

"If you say so Finn. I'm just gonna run to the ladies room, I'll be right back," Rory said.

As soon as Rory was gone from the table Finn leaned across to Sue. "So, we hear you're on our team." he whispered.

"Team? What team? There are teams?" Sue asked.

Finn sighed dramatically. "The get-Rory-and-Logan-to-stop-acting-like-shmucks-and-get-back-together-already-team."

"Oh yes, that team," Sue nodded enthusiastically.

"OK well, we figured we'd try the not so subtle 'gang up on her' technique; you know strength in numbers." Colin added.

Sue laughed. "So you're plan was to double team her? I don't think Jess would appreciate that, and I know Logan wouldn't, especially not coming from his two best friends."

Finn laughed at Sue's comment, "I like her," he said as an aside to Colin.

Colin just rolled his eyes. "Are you going to help us or not?"

"Hey, I've been at this for weeks. I'm the team starter, you guys are relief; you're helping _me_."

"Whatever. Shh, here she comes," Colin whispered.

"Do I even want to know what's going on here?" Rory asked as she sat back down with her friends.

"No" Colin and Sue said in unison.

Finn had a different idea "So Rory..."

"So Finn..."

"Why haven't you and Logan shagged yet?"

Sue and Colin groaned and Rory just shook her head. She should have seen this coming. "Shagged? Isn't that British slang?"

"What? Just because I'm Australian that means I can't speak British?"

"No, Finn, you can use any kind of slang you want," Rory said appeasingly.

"Damn straight, now what were we talking about? Oh yes, you and Logan getting jiggy wit it."

Sue leaned over to Colin, "You know when you guys said 'not so subtle', I wasn't expecting it to be quite this blunt."

"Wait. You knew they were going to shanghai me like this?" Rory asked Sue, her anger building.

"Well not like _this_ per se," Sue defended.

"You three are unbelievable. I should have seen this coming. This wasn't meant to be dinner it was meant to be an inquisition."

"Listen, Rory," Colin began. "That's not what this is. Logan's our best friend; we're just looking out for him."

"So _he_ sent you here? This is 'effin ridiculous. First he's all over me, then he says he's going to leave me alone, then he kisses me, then he won't talk to me for a week, then he has Sue check up on me and now he sends you two after me? Un-freaking-believable," Rory grabbed her purse and stood up from the table, preparing to leave but Finn stood up opposite her, blocking her exit.

"Rory, love, wait," he pleaded. " Logan doesn't know we're talking to you, I swear. He explicitly told us _not_ too talk to you about him."

"Oh, so what you're saying is that you went behind your friend's back and disobeyed his wishes. You're great friends," Rory spat at them.

"Sometimes being a good friend means reading between the lines," Finn stated.

"Ooh, I like that. That's a good motto," Sue said, smiling at Finn then turned to Rory. "Just hear them out Rory please. I tell you this stuff everyday, what difference does it make coming from them?" she reasoned.

Sue was wrong; it did make a difference coming from Colin and Finn, partly because they were mostly Logan's friends but mostly because they had been there for the entire Rory/Logan saga. They had been there since the beginning and they had insight into their relationship that Sue would never have. Put the three of them together and Rory knew all of her excuses would fall short. She'd be stripped bare, exposed for everyone to see. She wanted to run away, she didn't want to be so vulnerable but she couldn't run, she just sat back down.

"He really told you not to talk to me about this?" she asked.

"He really did, but Rory, he just looked so broken. He tries to get along without you but he can't, he needs you," Colin told her.

Rory felt a pang of guilt but brushed it off. "He doesn't need me, he's a big boy, he'll move on."

"No he won't, he's in love with you Rory, you only fall in love once," Colin told her.

"What do you two know about it, you've _never _been in love," Rory spat, she immediately regretted her harsh words. "I'm sorry," she added meekly.

"No, you're right. I've never been in love," Colin agreed. "But I've seen a lot working for my father. I've seen hundreds of couples that used to love each other fall apart at the seams. Every once in a blue moon a rare couple pulls through. Those are the couples that didn't just love each other, those are the ones that were _in_ love, because being in love is forever. I see in those couples the same thing I've seen in you and Logan. I haven't seen you with this Jess guy but I'm willing to bet money that even though you may love him, you're not _in_ love with him because you're already in love with Logan."

"He's sappy," Sue said to Rory, bringing a slight smile to her face, despite the intense conversation.

"Hey!" Colin said, offended by Sue's comment. "I am _not _sappy."

"No mate, she's right, we're going to have to do something very macho after this," Finn agreed with Sue.

"Finn, are you just doing that thing where you agree with whatever the red head says, because she's _not_ going home with you." Rory said, hoping for a reprise from the previous conversation.

"No, I'm not just doing that thing where I agree with the red head," Finn argued. "But even if I were, that's beside the point. We're getting off topic here and the longer this conversation goes the longer I have to wait to get a drink so let's get back to the topic at hand."

"Which is what?" Rory said with great annoyance.

"You're in love with Logan, Logan's in love with you. Get off your ass and go get him," Finn said matter-of-factly.

"It's not that simple, there are other matters at hand," Rory argued.

"Like what? This Jess guy?" Colin asked.

"Yes like Jess, my _fiancé_. We're getting married; we're starting a life together. We're going to be husband and wife and we're going to have children and a home and maybe a dog; we're going to have a _family_. I want that now. I'm out of school; I have a decent job, now I want a family."

"So you can't have a family with Logan?" Colin asked

"No," Rory said forcefully.

"What, did I miss something?" Finn asked. "Is there a problem with Logan's little swimmers?"

Sue laughed at Finn but Rory just glared. "It's not his ability to procreate that's in question here Finn."

"Then color me confused, because I'm not getting it."

"Look at his life guys. He spends god knows how many hours a day in that office, he's a slave to his father and that company. He moves all the time; Hartford, London, Hartford again, Philadelphia and who knows where he'll be next. And even when he's living in one spot he's always traveling. I can't take that. I need someone who will _be_ there. I don't want someone who's never home for dinner, who's not around to tuck the kids in and read them a bed time story, who will send them away to boarding school. I don't want to spend half my nights lying in bed alone wondering if the business trip he's on has a little pleasure on the side." As soon as Rory finished speaking she froze up. Had she really just said all those things aloud? She'd hardly formed these fears into coherent thoughts and she just belted them out to a crowd. She should have just walked away from the table when she'd had a chance, but there was no going back now.

"My god, she's completely daft." Finn declared. "If you weren't a lady I'd smack you upside the head for that last comment. I mean it was all a little crazy but for you to even think that he would cheat on you..."

"Is that seriously what you think of him? He's not Mitchum for god sake." Colin added.

"Holly crap," Sue declared, having an epiphony. "I get it. How could I have been so stupid, how could I have missed it? It all makes sense?"

"What makes sense love?"

"_That guy! That guy_ that he was taking about isn't some hypothetical guy it's his father. He's afraid of turning into his father, _that's_ why he's doing this crazy 'letting you go' thing. And then he said he figured out that you were scared of the same thing, and _you _told me that it wasn't _really_ about Mitchum which meant that in a way it was. So that's what you're afraid of; him becoming just like his Dad."

"Oi," was all Finn could say.

"No, no, this is good. We can work with this," Colin assured Finn.

"Right, I know," Finn said to his friend then turned to face Rory. "You're an idiot."

"Thanks, that means a lot coming from the guy who thought the sun was a myth until his junior year of college."

"You're not an idiot, Rory," Colin assured her. "You're right."

"She's what?" Finn asked incredulously.

"She's right."

"I am?" Rory asked, clearly not expecting that response.

"Oh I got it," Finn chimed in.

"Good for you Finn," Colin sarcastically.

"No, seriously I understand where you're going. What our dear friend Colin is trying to say..."

Colin cut him off. "Finn, don't explain for me."

"Seriously Colin, I know what I'm saying, just let me handle this."

Rory dropped her head down on the table "Do you guys want to get to the part where I'm right sometime today?" she asked, "Because this conversation is getting very tiresome." Sue patted her gently on the back.

"Fine, Finn, take it but if you say one stupid thing I'm cutting you off."

Finn smiled triumphantly. "Do you know why Mitchum is so...Mitchumesque?" he began.

Rory shook her head back and forth without lifting it from the table, "Enlighten me," she mumbled into her place mat.

"He's lonely. He's lonely and bitter and jaded." Finn stated matter-of-factly. "Just like Logan, his parents never thought of him as anything but an heir to the company. They never cared for him a stitch. Then they forced him to get married and he never gave a damn about Shira. She was just what his parents expected of him. So when he had his kids, it was only out of duty, not out of love and so he never really loved his children and they in return don't love him. I don't think Mitchum has ever been loved a day in his life." Everyone at the table looked up at Finn with amazement. It was, of course a very un-Finn like thing to say but he didn't seem to notice, he just carried on. "So could Logan turn out that way? Sure. His family doesn't care about him and eventually he will have to get married if he's going to take over the company and he could get stuck in a loveless business arrangement of a marriage and he can stop caring, or he could wind up with you. He could spend the rest of his life with a woman he loves; someone who gives him a reason to come home from the office early and to send his employees out on the business trips for him so he can spend more time at home. Someone who gives him children who are more than a business investment. So that's the difference- love. The moral of the story, doll, is that family's most worth having when you have it with the right person."

Rory continued to stare, not knowing what to say. She finally forced words out of her mouth. "You _seriously _need to have a drink Finn because this whole insightful thing is _really_ creeping me out."

Finn just smiled proudly, "Told ya I knew what I was saying."

"Is that what it's really like?" Sue asked softly.

"What what's like?" Colin replied.

"Being rich and powerful. Is that really the price you have to pay? Families that resent you or only want to use you? Being forced into marriage with someone you don't even care about? Having no options, having no one who really cares about you?" she asked incredulously.

"Some have it harder than other's but for the most part, yeah," Colin confirmed.

"Wow, and to think I spent all those years being jealous of Ivana Trump."

Rory laughed. "Now you know why my Mom ran away with me."

"Ahh look, right on time," Finn said, pointing towards the doorway. The girls turned around to see what Finn was pointing at. Rory stared wordlessly at the door and Sue groaned at the site. Those two idiots had gone and possibly messed up everything they had just done.

"Oh god, oh god. I can't do this." Rory began panicking. I can't deal with this yet. Oh god."

"Rory," Sue tried in a soothing voice but she knew it was hopeless; the brunette picked up her bag and bolted out of the restaurant brushing right passed a very confused looking Logan on the way. Sue stared at him for a moment as he stood there contemplating which way to go before she turned back to the two at the table. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"We were thinking they should talk," Colin defended.

"Ugh, you idiots. You can't just lay all this stuff on her and then throw them together again. She needs time to process."

"We didn't think..."

"Clearly," Sue scolded.

"What the hell just happened?" A new voice broke in. Apparently Logan had decided not to chase after her.

"It's nothing Logan, just have a seat," Sue said.

"It's nothing?" he asked incredulously. "She just ran out of here in tears, she looked like she just saw a puppy die."

"She just has a lot on her mind. She needs some time alone to process."

"So you're not going to go check on her?"

"No."

"But..."

"But nothing, she'll be fine. I promise."

"What the hell did you two say to her?" Logan asked, turning his attention to his two friends. "I told you not to say anything to her."

Colin and Finn stuttered, looking for a way to explain themselves but were at a loss for words. "I'll deal with you two later," he said. "You're really not going to check on her?' he asked Sue again.

"No, and you're not either," she replied.

"Someone has to," Logan turned back around and started for the entrance.

"I swear to god if you upset her anymore there will be hell to pay Huntzberger," she called after him, but he was already gone.

--------------------------------------

Rory climbed into her car and stuck the keys in he ignition but didn't turn them. She couldn't drive like this, she was a mess. What the hell had just happened in that restaurant? Everything they had said had made so much sense and yet she felt more confused than ever. She banged her head down on the steering wheel and the horn sounded but she ignored it.

Were they right? Could he really be the man that she needed? If so than she owed him a chance, right? And what about the other side? Could he really turn out just like his father if she rejected him? Would she really be condemning him to that awful fate? But she didn't want to pick him because she felt guilty, he deserved better than that. But was that what she was doing with Jess? Was she just with him because she felt guilty for breaking her promise to him? Or was she with him because of what he could do for her? That was wrong too. And maybe Finn was right about that too. Maybe a family with Jess would be tainted if she was really meant to be with Logan. Was she just stringing them both along? If so she was an awful person. They both deserved better, why the hell were they fighting over her?

She rubbed at her temples furiously; all the thoughts were giving her a head ache. Her head was pounding...or was it something else pounding? The window? She looked up and sure enough there was Logan knocking on the car window. Great, just what she needed. She wasn't ready to talk to him. Apparently he didn't care because the next thing she knew he was opening the car door.

"You OK Rory?" he asked crouching down so he was at her level. He had almost called her Ace but he remembered her reaction the last time he had tried to call her that. He was sure it wouldn't be a better reaction after he hadn't said a word to her at all for a week.

"Just go away Logan," she sobbed.

"Not until I know you're alright," he insisted, placing a hand gently on her leg for support.

"You shouldn't be here. Remember, you're supposed to stay away from me," she replied, wiping furiously at the tears in her eyes.

"It's not like that. I never meant it to be like that," he insisted.

"Right, that's why you've gone out of your way to ignore me all week," she said angrily.

"It's not that I don't want to be around you, Rory. I want that more than anything. I wish so much that I could just have you in my life, even if it's not the way I really want. I just don't know how to do it."

She looked down, trying to hide the new tears springing up. "I don't know what I'm doing Logan," she said softly.

"Join the club," he let out a short chuckle. "Cause I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing either."

She just sat there, continuing to cry, content to know she wasn't alone. "Hey, come on, Ace" Logan said standing up. He pulled softly on her arm and she obeyed, stepping out of the car. He smiled softly, she hadn't yelled at him for calling her Ace. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her closely to himself. She leaned her head against his chest, continuing to sob into him.

They stood like that for an indeterminate period of time, wrapped in one another. "It's just all so confusing," she finally said, mumbling into his chest.

"Tell me about it," he replied rhetorically but she apparently misunderstood.

"I can't, not yet."

"Well whenever you want to talk, I'll listen," he said, kissing the top of her head lightly.

She pulled back and looked up at him. "I missed you Logan."

He smiled down at her. "I missed you too, Ace. You have no idea how much," And before she knew what she was doing she pushed herself up on her tippy toes and pressed her lips to his. Her hands ran up his chest and encircled his neck. She didn't even have to ask for entry, his mouth was open and waiting. She plunged her tongue into his mouth desperately, taking comfort in the warmth it offered.

They continued for a few seconds before she hastily pulled back. "Oh god I shouldn't have done that. I'm so sorry, I should not have done that," she rambled. That wasn't how it was supposed to happen. She was still confused and irrational. Sure she was considering leaving Jess more seriously now but she needed to at least _talk _to Logan first, not just ram her tongue down his throat. And if she did decide to leave Jess for Logan she had to actually _leave _him before anything happened. "I'm so sorry," she said again, tearing herself from his arms and scurrying back into the driver's seat. "I'm so sorry," she muttered once more as she shut the door.

Logan watched her drive away. His life wasn't confusing, not at all.


	23. The Talk

Rory stared helplessly at the blinking cursor on her computer screen. She had no idea what to write next. She had to finish up the article she was working on before she left for the day and it was already 7 o'clock. The office was empty except for her; the place had started clearing out at three since it was the day before Thanksgiving and everyone had been gone by 5:30-everyone but her...and him. She looked up at his office door for what felt like the millionth time since he had last gone in there 3 hours ago. He had once again not spoken to her all day and she didn't know if it was because of the agreement he had made with her or if he was mad at her for what had happened outside the restaurant last night. She couldn't blame him if he was mad; she had no right to kiss him and run away like that but she had been so confused. She needed to talk to him; she needed to clear some things up in her head before making her decision. She had originally made a snap decision and stuck by it out of stubbornness; she wouldn't do that this time. This time she wanted to analyze the situation more fully, with both her head _and _her heart. Unfortunately Logan wouldn't come out of his office and she was too chicken shit to knock on his door, so she continued to stare at the article she had to write even though she knew she wouldn't be able to write it until after she spoke with him.

When he finally opened the door she looked up at him tensely. "Hi," she managed to say.

Logan looked across the room at her, startled by the sound of her voice. "Hey," he paused. "I didn't realize you were still here." He took a few steps towards her.

"Yeah well this article isn't going to write itself." She gestured towards her computer.

"It's not due for a couple of days," he reminded her. God this was awkward.

"Yeah but I'm going to Mom's first thing tomorrow so I won't have time to write," she explained.

"You are?" he asked cocking his head to the side curiously. "Why? Did something happen?"

"Thanksgiving," she said pointedly

"Oh holidays, I forgot about those," he said, his tone was joking but in all actuality he was completely serious.

"That's just sad, Logan." She managed a weak smile.

"What can I say, I haven't been in a very celebratory mood lately," he admitted. The smile on Rory's face fell into a frown; she didn't know what to say. Logan spoke again, trying to stifle the awkwardness. "So you're going to be here for a while?"

"Looks that way, why?" she asked.

"Well I was just going to go down the block and grab a slice of pizza but if you're hungry we can just order a pie," he offered.

Rory thought for a moment before answering. "Make it Chinese and you've got yourself a deal."

"A deal? Don't most deals involve both parties benefiting? You get a free meal of the ethnic food of your choice, what do I get?" he teased lightly, glad to see the tension easing a bit.

"You get to not eat dinner all by your lonesome," she stated simply.

"Right...good deal. I'll be back in a bit," he said with a smile, moving towards the elevator.

"They do deliver you know," she reminded him.

"I know but I wanted some fresh air anyhow. And don't worry Ace, I remember what you like. Now get back to work, I ain't paying you for nothing," he scolded playfully.

"'Ain't' ain't a word cause it ain't in the dictionary," she retorted.

"It is so."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is not."

"Fine Ace, you look it up, I'm going to get some food. When I'm back you can tell me all about how right I was." He smirked and left.

----------------------------------------------

Logan returned twenty minutes later carrying a large plastic bag full of food in one hand and a cardboard cup holder with two large coffees and two cokes in the other. He set the beverages on Rory's desk and began pulling cartons of Chinese food out of the bag. "I hope I got enough, I know how you like to pack it in," he said with a smile.

Rory looked at the numerous food items crowding her desk and nodded, "I think this will suffice."

Upon hearing her approval her turned to the next desk over and pulled up a chair. As he sat down Rory began opening cartons, looking at his choices. "What's this?" she asked skeptically. "There are vegetables in here; I thought you said you remembered what I liked."

"That, Ace, is pepper steak, and it's for me. Now quit your complaining and enjoy your free meal, there's plenty here for you," he said, pulling the box away from her and picking up a pair of chopsticks.

"So what's the verdict," he asked after taking a few bites. He leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the corner of her desk, looking at her intently.

"Verdict on what?" she asked looking up from her meal.

"Our vocabulary lesson." He already knew the answer. He knew his Ace well enough to know that she would have checked her dictionary instantly to prove him wrong and she would have wasted no time once he got back to let him know if "ain't" really wasn't in the dictionary, still, he loved to goad her.

Rory scowled at him but didn't answer.

"I'll take your silence as an admission of defeat," he said smirking.

"Fine, so Webster agrees with you, are you happy?" she said defensively.

"Score one for Huntzberger, Gilmore- zero," he gloated.

"It also said it was a word used by the uneducated. Are you uneducated? Bringing shame upon your fellow Elis?"

"Hey, at least I'm educated enough to know that ain't is a real word." He stuck his tongue out at her.

"Put that tongue away Huntzberger," she demanded.

"Is that really what you want?" he asked suggestively before he could stop himself. And with that the conversation came to a screeching halt. Welcome back awkwardness.

Rory stared at him with wide eyes for a few moments before finding her voice. "Logan," she said softly.

"We don't have to talk about it Ace," he said without looking her in the eye.

"Yes, we do," she replied, her voice soft but insistent.

"It's really alright, I understand. You were upset, confused. You made a mistake. You don't have to apologize," he assured her.

"I wasn't going to."

"Huh?" he asked, bringing his feet back down to the floor and turning to look at her straight on. _Don't get too excited Huntzberger_ he warned himself, _you can't get your hopes up, not again._

"It was all wrong, Logan. But it happened. It happened and I made it happen; this time it wasn't you."

"So what are you saying?" he asked, his heart beating a little faster. He didn't want to get too excited, he stole a glance at her left hand which still clutched a carton of food; there was the ring. He sighed, partly in disappointment, partly in relief- at least he knew what she wasn't saying, at least he could let that idea go, he didn't have to wonder.

"In all this time I haven't denied my feelings for you, but I have tried to convince myself and everyone else, you included, that they don't matter. Well obviously they do. How many times have people said you can't just bottle up your feelings? I have to deal with this. That's what Colin and Finn made me see last night and what that little incident outside the restaurant proved. I can't just push my feelings aside, I have to face them head on."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"By talking to you. By finding out the truth. I'm not making any promises here Logan; I just want to know exactly what my options are. I know what my future with Jess holds. I know what he can offer me. With you I've just made assumptions; assumptions which some very good friends pointed out were a little unfair."

"What did they say to you?" he asked curiously.

"A lady never tells."

Logan rolled his eyes. "Fine Ace, be that way," he sulked. "So what are these assumptions I have to disprove?"

"Well...let's start with this," she began. "Are you always here this late?"

Logan looked at his watch, it was just after 8. Not that it affected his answer, lately he was there all night so it could have been 1 AM and the answer would have been the same. "Lately," he admitted.

"Why?"

Logan sighed. "I don't really have much reason to go home."

"What about Colin and Finn? They came all this way to visit you and yet here you are."

Logan laughed. "Finn met a feisty red head after dinner last night and she introduced Colin to her pretty blonde friend."

Rory smiled. "Well we wouldn't want to keep Finn from a willing feisty red head."

"Definitely not," Logan agreed.

"So what you're saying is that you don't go home because there's nothing there for you but if there was..."

"I'd be there in a heart beat."

Rory sighed, good answer. "OK, moving on. Do you know if you're here in Philly for good or is your Dad going to move you again?"

"I don't know," he answered truthfully. "But I've been meaning to speak to Dad about it. I don't want to keep moving, regardless of what happens here," he said motioning between them. "It's no fun not knowing if you're going to have to up and leave everything as soon as your settled some place new. I don't want to keep doing it, I won't."

"But if Daddy says..."

"Daddy can shove it."

"You'd really be willing to risk it all?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes," he said, "but I won't be."

"Huh?"

"I don't know why I let Dad's threats rule me for so long. He's not going to cut me off. Who the hell would run this business? Even if he would ever consider letting a woman run his precious media empire, Honor was an Art History major, she knows nothing about journalism. And all his siblings went their own way too. There's no one else to do this job, Ace. I'm sure some compromises will have to be made but that's true for him as well as me."

"Alright, what about business trips? How much time do you usually spend traveling?" she asked her next question.

"Unfortunately I can't get out of business trips, Ace." he told her.

"I didn't ask you to get out of it; I asked you how much of your time it would take up."

"Um, well I know I haven't been on any trips this past month because I just got here and am getting things settled, but normally I'd say I have to go away a couple times a month for 2-3 days each time," he answered the question and then added a little more. "The real problem is that Dad likes to spring them on me, something else I plan on talking to him about. I can't always be at his beck and call."

Rory processed the information for a moment. 4-5 days a month was fairly reasonable. He was willing to stand up to Mitchum, that was definitely a pro though he wasn't 100 percent sure of the outcome so that was a con but he seemed to think they could come to a reasonable agreement so hopefully it wouldn't be too big of a con. She paused before asking her next question. Normally it was a sure fire way to scare a guy off but she had to know and besides, it was obvious that if she went back to him it was for the long haul. She wasn't giving up on an engagement just to give this thing another _try_. Taking a deep breath she went on. "What about kids?"

He looked at her with narrow eyes, was she kidding? "Of course there will be kids. I have to have kids."

Wrong answer, but she'd give him another shot. "I don't want to know if you _have_ to have kids. I want to know if you _want_ to have kids."

"With you?" he asked with a raised brow, leaning forward in his chair. "Sure, let's go make some right now."

"Logan, be serious," she chastised.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself," he smirked but then obliging her he turned serious again. "But my question still stands...Do you mean with you?"

Rory was slightly taken aback. "Well, it doesn't...I mean maybe...well I..." she stuttered but then she remembered what Finn had said- _family's most worth having when you have it with the right person._ She had to answer him, it made a difference. "Yes, with me."

"Then yes," he answered without hesitation. "I want to have kids with you. I want to have a family with you if you'll only give me the chance."

She couldn't help the grin that took over her face. Another right answer. There was only one question left for her to ask, this one courtesy of Colin's little speech. "Are you in love with me?"

"You know I love you," he said matter-of-factly.

"Yes, I know you love me, but are you _in _love with me," she asked again.

Logan took a second to ponder this one. What did she mean _in love_? How was it different from him just loving her? "You mean can't sleep, can't eat, always have you on my mind, feel like a shell of the person I used to be because you're not with me- in love?" he asked.

Rory felt a lump forming in her throat that she tried to swallow. His words rang in her head-_can't sleep, can't eat, always have you on my mind, feel like a shell of the person I used to be because you're not with me_. She nodded her head. Colin was right. It didn't matter how much she loved Jess, she was _in love_ with Logan. She didn't need to hear Logan say yes our no. Her answer was enough, but he answered anyway.

"Yes, I'm in love with you."

Rory stood up from her chair. "I have to go," she said.

"What?" he asked. He didn't understand? Had he said something wrong? How the hell could _yes, I'm in love with you_, be the wrong answer.

"I have to go," she said again, walking past his chair.

"Ace, wait," he begged, swiveling the chair around to where she now was. She stopped walking and turned back to look at him. She took a few steps back until she was standing directly in front of him. Bending down she gave him a quick peck on the lips before turning back again and racing towards the exit. He watched her as she retreated wondering, just like the previous night, what the hell had just happened. Why the hell did she keep doing this to him? What did it mean? This whole kiss and run thing was getting to be a little much. Sure this time it had only a little peck but a way that was worse because it could have so many meanings, it didn't have to be intimate.

Rory pushed the door to the stairwell open; she couldn't be bothered to wait for the elevator. There was something she had to do.


	24. Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Rory paced in the hallway outside her apartment. Her enthusiasm had been so great when she left the office and now she was just standing there, afraid to go into her own apartment. She stopped directly in front of the door, wringing her hands together and tapping her foot nervously. She knew she had to do this but she hated it. Jess had been nothing but great to her since they had gotten back together and she didn't want to hurt him. Here goes nothing, she thought to herself. She took a deep breath, stood up straight and walked into the apartment.

"Hey," Jess said as she entered. He was in the kitchen, apparently making himself a snack. She realized she hadn't eaten much during the talk with Logan but she wasn't really hungry anymore anyhow. "You're finally home. Get that article finished?" he asked.

Shit, the article. She'd completely forgotten, she couldn't worry about that now though. "Umm, not exactly."

"Oh, well I guess you'll have to bring your laptop. I know you didn't want to work while we were in Stars Hollow but you've gotta do what you've gotta do, right?"

"Yeah, umm Jess," she started nervously; quick, like a band aid-it was the easiest way, She took a few steps towards the kitchen. Taking another deep breath and steadying her nerves she said her next words...the four words no one in a relationship ever wanted to hear... "We need to talk."

Jess dropped the knife he was holding and his head shot up. He looked at her for a moment before speaking. "Damn," he said. He didn't sound mad, just disappointed. "It's finally happening."

"What is?"

"It's the four dreaded words Rory, I'm not stupid," he replied. That time there was a tinge of anger in his voice.

She looked down at her feet, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her sweater. "Can we sit down for this please?"

He sighed. He had known this was coming; he had known for a while. "Yeah, I guess," he said, walking out of the kitchen into the living room. He sat down in his favorite chair and Rory sat down on the sofa across from him.

Rory bit her lip, trying to find the right words to say. "Jess, I love you..." she began.

"I love you too, but that doesn't matter does it?" he asked.

"No, it doesn't," she answered, tearing her eyes from her lap and forcing herself to look him in the eye; she owed him that much at least, "Because I'm not _in_ love with you."

"I know," he responded with a nod of his head.

"You do?" she asked, not hiding her surprise.

"You're in love with him." It wasn't a question. He had known from the moment that he realized she hadn't told Logan about their relationship, let alone their engagement.

"I'm so sorry...for all of this," she croaked out.

"You're sorry for loving him?" he asked pointedly. He didn't want her lying to him, or herself and for her to say she was sorry for everything was a lie.

"Well..."

"You're sorry for choosing him over me?" he asked again.

She inhaled deeply, holding the breath in her lungs for a minute before slowly exhaling. "No, you're right. I'm not sorry for that. I can't be sorry for the way I feel. I can't be sorry for picking him, not when I know it's the right decision; it took me long enough to figure it out but I know now," she admitted. "But I am sorry for hurting you. I'm sorry for stringing you along. I may not be sorry that he's the one but I am sorry that you're not. You deserved more from me and I'm sorry I couldn't give it to you."

"So am I," he paused. "Does he know?" he asked.

Well this was awkward, definitely not how she expected this to go. She wasn't sure how she expected him to take the news but she sure as hell didn't expect _that_ question. It was awkward but she promised herself she'd be as honest as she could. "I don't know." The truth was she had been purposely vague when she left the office. She'd kissed him so he probably suspected, right? But she didn't want him to know yet. She wanted to end things with Jess properly first. When her and Logan officially got back together she didn't want it to be tainted by guilt or with concern over an impending break up; she wanted that in the past so they could start on their future.

"You should probably tell him than."

"That's it?" she asked skeptically. "You're OK with this? You're not upset or...or angry?"

"Is that what you want? For me to get angry? Would it help? I can do that you know," his voice was getting louder. Yes, he could definitely get angry. "Would you like for me to yell and scream, or would you like me to beg you to stay with me? Do you want to hear me tell you that I can't live without you? Would that make _you _feel better Rory?"

She recoiled a bit at the harshness of his words but the truth was it did make her feel better. "I guess if you were angry I...I wouldn't feel so guilty." Honesty -she promised herself, right?

"Oh, well if it will make _you_ feel less guilty by all means...I'll get pissed off just to make you feel better while you're breaking my heart in a million little pieces." He knew he was giving her exactly what she wanted. He was getting angry. He wasn't supposed to get angry. He'd been practicing for this conversation in his head since Halloween; that was when he knew for sure this conversation would come about eventually. As soon as Logan was officially back in her life he knew he was living on borrowed time, so he told himself that he would try to hold on as long as possible but when she made the inevitable decision to leave him, he would respect it. And when she walked into the apartment and uttered the words he had been dreading he had reacted just as he had practiced. But it didn't matter how prepared he was, how long he knew- it still hurt like hell to hear and he was cracking.

"Jess..."

"No, this is what you wanted. You wanted me to get angry and you got your wish," he screamed, standing up from his chair. "I'm pissed as hell to know my fiance is in love with another man. I shouldn't be pissed since I've known all along, but I am. I wish I could beat the crap out of him so badly that he can't ever lay a finger on you. I don't ever want to have to think about you and him being together. Oh god, were you together? Did you cheat on me?" He asked, wide eyed.

"Jess..." she tried again.

"Did. You. Cheat. On. Me?" he asked again, carefully articulating each word, his voice forceful and unwavering.

Damn, this honesty thing Rory was trying was getting hard. "He kissed me a couple of times," she hesitantly admitted. "I didn't exactly protest." She took a deep breath. "And then last night..."

"OK stop right there," he ordered her, holding his hand up in a stop gesture. "I take it back, I don't want to know. I don't want to know about last night."

"No, I didn't sleep with him, I swear Jess. I still care about you, I could never do that to you." She stood up to look him in the eye so that he knew she was telling him the truth.

"I said I didn't want to know," he snapped, turning away from her.

"I'm sorry."

"You said that already," he told her, his voice softening again.

"And it's still true...but Jess, I have to go now."

"Yeah," he looked around the apartment. "I'll move my stuff out after Thanksgiving," he said defeatedly.

Rory nodded and took his hand in hers. "Thank you...for everything," she said, moving back towards the door.

As Rory withdrew her hand from Jess's grip he noticed that she left something behind. He looked down into his palm where her diamond ring sat; his heart broke a little more. "Wait, Rory!" he called after her.

"Yeah," she said, looking back from the open doorway.

"I forgot the part where I threaten to kill him if he ever hurts you, and I'm not just saying that, I really will," he said with a weak smile.

Rory smiled back. "That's good to know Jess, but I think he's safe." And with that she was gone.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The cab pulled up in front of a posh, eight story building. Rory handed some bills to the driver and stepped out. She looked at her watch, 10 o'clock, surely he was home by now. She walked into the building and headed straight for the elevators.

"Excuse me Miss, can I help you?" she heard someone ask.

Turning around she saw that it was the doorman. "I'm just visiting a friend," she replied nonchalantly.

"Is your friend expecting you?" he asked.

"Umm, I don't think so," she admitted. God, she just wanted to get up to see Logan, why was he being so difficult.

"Well what's your friend's name,' he asked politely.

"Logan, Logan Huntzberger," she tapped her foot impatiently.

"Ah, the penthouse. You have friends in high places," the doorman chuckled.

"Was that a pun?"

"It was supposed to be, yes."

"Oh," was all she said.

"OK, what's your name?" he asked, moving on. "I can call up and see if he's there."

"Rory Gilmore."

"ID," he requested.

He had to be kidding; was this place the friggin' pentagon or something? She dug through her purse, locating her wallet. She took it out and passed her driver's license to the doorman.

"OK, you can go on up," he replied, giving her back her license.

Rory narrowed her eyes at the man. "That's it? I thought you were going to call him."

"You're on the list," he stated simply.

"The list? Is this an apartment building or the latest hit club?" she asked.

The doorman laughed. "The tenants leave a list of approved visitors," he explained.

"Oh," she replied. Approved visitors? He had her on a list of approved visitors? Did he expect her to visit or was it just wishful thinking? Actually it was kind of cute. Besides, it was better this way, she wanted to surprise him. She turned and headed back to the elevators and made her way up to the penthouse.

She stepped into the hallway and knocked on the door. She waited a few seconds before she heard movement and the door began to open. Her stomach did a little flip flop. She was here at last but as the door opened she felt a sudden wave of disappointment. "Oh, it's you," she said.

"Hey, I think I'm offended," Colin said jokingly.

"No, I was just...he's not here right now is he?" she asked.

"Nope, still at work I think."

"Hey, who is it?" she heard Finn call from inside.

"Rory," Colin told him.

"Hey Reporter Girl," Finn called out, "Lover Boy's not home yet."

"Who's Reporter Girl?" she heard a female voice ask. She peaked her head around Colin to see inside- Ah the feisty red-head and her pretty blonde friend.

"No need for jealousy, love," Finn told her. "She's Logan's girl, wouldn't dream of laying a finger on her. Besides, she doesn't have your beautiful red locks."

Rory laughed. "Didn't mean to interrupt your dates," she assured Colin. "And I'm not Logan's girl," she yelled passed him to Finn. "I am my own person."

"Right, your own person who showed up here at 10 o'clock at night looking for a little lovin'." Finn shot at her.

"Who said I was "looking for a little lovin'?" she asked with a roll of the eye, crossing her arms over her chest.

"So you're not?" Colin asked her curiously.

"I never said I wasn't either," she admitted with a smirk.

"Ah, so something we said did sink in last night," Finn said, joining Colin in the doorway. "Finally kicked ol' what's his name to the curb."

"Jess," she said pointedly. "And I didn't kick him to the curb, I...gently shooed him."

Finn and Colin both smiled broadly. "Well than, what are you waiting for," Finn asked. "Go find your man and have lots of mad, passionate sex in your mutual place of work."

"Fine," she said shaking her head amusedly. "I'll leave you two to your dates." she said turning around.

"Rory..." she heard Colin call her.

"Yeah?" she asked, looking back at him.

"Do you want the four of us to find an elsewhere to be tonight?" he asked pointedly.

"I couldn't ask you guys to do that," she said with a shake of her head.

"You don't have to ask," he assured her. "It's done."

"Thanks, Colin."

"No problem, and Rory..."

"Yeah, Colin?"

"I think you made the right decision."

"So do I," she said with a smile. "So do I."


	25. Naked

**AN: The rataing for this chapter has been upgraded to M; if anyone has any objections, feel free to let me know ;) ;)**

**and without any further ado and no more guilding the lilly...**

-------------------------------

Logan lifted his head off his desk, wiping the sleep from his eyes. He looked at his watch, 10:20. He must have fallen asleep after Rory left. He started to move but paused. What was that noise? Was someone else there? He slowly stood up from his desk and made his way to the office door and opened it, peeking out into the newsroom. "Ace?" he asked when his eyes landed on her.

She looked at him with a smile. His normally tousled hair was even more mussed up than usual. He was no longer wearing his suit jacket and his tie hung loosely around his neck. The top buttons of his shirt were undone and the cuffs of his sleeves were undone and rolled up his arms. He squinted at her like he was trying to figure out if she was real or not. He must have fallen asleep, he looked so cute.

"Ace?" he asked again. She didn't respond, just walked slowly towards him. "Rory, what's going on? Is everything OK? You're acting wei..." he was suddenly silenced by the press of her lips on his. He stumbled backwards into the corner of the doorframe but he completely ignored the sharp, jabbing pain it left in his back; he couldn't feel anything but her. He felt her tongue caress his lips and he spread them apart, letting her in. He put his hands to her waste, drawing her to him. He continued the kiss for a few moments before angrily shoving her away.

"What the hell, Rory?" She frowned at him. "You can't keep doing this. Three times. Three times in barely 24 hours. Are you going to run away again?" he yelled, flailing his arms about frustratedly.

She looked him straight in the eye and shook her head. "No more running Logan," she promised him.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Not anymore," she answered.

"Really? What about your fiancé, Rory? What about Jess? You're engaged," he spat at her. He was getting sick of her mind games. It hurt so much to have her give him what he wanted and then have her yank it away again.

She stepped up to him again. "Am I?" she said with a smirk. "Hmm, I guess I should have held onto that pretty little ring a bit longer than." He looked at her with wide eyes; she couldn't be saying what he thought she was saying, could she?

Smiling at his shocked expression she placed her left hand firmly on his chest. He looked down at her ringless ring finger. "Really?" he asked, trying to hold back his smile until he got confirmation.

"Really," she assured him. "I'm all yours...if you still want me."

He placed his right hand over her left one, still on his chest and encircled her waist with his left arm, pulling her as close as humanly possible. He kissed her again, firm and tender before breaking away. "Does that answer your question?" he asked huskily.

"Hmm, I'm not quite sure I caught that, could you give it to me again?" she mumbled.

"Maybe...if you ask real nice," he teased.

"Please," she pouted.

"Now how can I say no to that?" he leaned back into her, attacking her lips more furiously. Once the kiss broke he spoke again. "I thought I said something wrong, I thought...I don't know what I thought but I didn't think this," he admitted.

She shook her head, "You said everything right."

"But why didn't you tell me that's where you were going?" he asked her. "I would have waited."

"I had to take care of it on my own; there needed to be no more 'Jess and me' before there could be a 'you and me'," she explained.

"I guess, but I still think you should have told me," he said.

"Hmm, well if I've been bad I'm sure you can think of an appropriate punishment," she replied suggestively, punctuating it with a kiss.

"Mmmm," he moaned. "Yes, you've been very naughty. I'm going to have to see you in my office so I can properly scold you," he said with a smirk. He pulled her into his office, shutting the door behind them. Spinning themselves around, he pinned Rory up against the wall. He crashed his lips hard against hers. His hands went first to her waist and he slid them up underneath her sweater, taking in the feel of her soft, silky skin. God how he missed the feel of her skin on his.

He pulled away again and she looked at him exasperatedly. "What now?"

"Are you sure about this?" he asked. "I mean you only broke off your engagement, what, like about an hour ago? We can wait if you want. Should we talk about this first?"

"God Huntzberger," she rolled her eyes. "Stop acting like such a girl and just undress me already."

He smirked at her. "I think that request can be accommodated," he assured her as he grabbed the bottom of her sweater and yanked it over her head. "Better?"

"Much," she agreed as her hands made their way to his waist and she began working on his belt. He groaned as she undid his zipper and her hand grazed over his hardness. His hands searched for the zipper of her skirt and when he finally found it he removed the offending article. They both stepped out of the clothes pooled at their ankles. Her hands began working at the buttons of his shirt as he showered soft kisses along her neck, moving down to the swelling of her breasts. She moaned with pleasure as he grazed his tongue along the seam of her bra on one side and he cupped her other breast with his hand, gently stroking her nipple through the cloth. She finished with his shirt and slipped it off his shoulders; it joined the pile of clothing growing at their feet.

She reached her arm down and clumsily grasped for her foot. "What are you doing?" he breathed into her chest.

"Shoes," she replied.

He pulled back and looked down at the pumps which made her legs look a million miles long. "Leave them," he requested. "They look hot." She too looked down and as soon as she did she started giggling. "What?" he pouted. "Giggling is _not_ a good thing for a guy to hear at a time like this."

"I wish I could say the same thing about your shoes that you said about mine but you look really silly," she laughed. "And can we please do something about those trouser socks? They are _not _a turn on."

"Fine," he agreed with a sigh, "'I'll take off my shoes but you leave yours on."

"I would," she replied, "but that would make it very difficult to take off my stockings and that will be a pretty big hindrance to what we're about to do."

"All shoes off it is," he quickly agreed, bending down to remove his socks and shoes. Afterwards he slipped her shoes off. He stood back up slowly, softly running his hands along the outside of her legs as he did. When his hands were at her waist he grasped the waistband of her stockings and panties and pulled them down together, she lifted her feet one at a time so he could remove the undergarments completely. "Can we put the shoes back on now?" he asked, looking up at her pleadingly.

"You really love those pumps, don't you?" He nodded enthusiastically. "Maybe I should buy you a pair of your very own," she teased.

"I doubt they make them in my size, besides, they look much better on you."

"Fine than, if you must," she smiled down at him. He picked her shoes up one at a time and slipped them back on her feet, placing a tender kiss on each foot as he did so. Next he kissed the inside of her ankles, then he moved a little higher, and a little higher, leaving a trail of kisses all along the inside of her legs until he could go no farther. He could sense her body tensing up in anticipation of what was about to happen to it. He moved his hands up to her hips to steady her as his tongue darted out of his mouth licking her entrance.

"Logan," she gasped; one of her hands slammed against the wall and the other found its way into his hair where she grasped at the tendrils. Logan smiled; it had been so long since he had heard her say his name like that and there was no sweeter sound. He worked his tongue inside her, twirling it around masterfully. He could hear her breathing getting quicker and shallower and her fingers grasped at his hair even tighter. "Logan," she said his name again, this time as a whisper. "Wait! Logan, stop," she called out almost urgently after another moment. He pulled back worriedly.

"What's wrong, Ace?"

"It's our first time back together," she told him, trying to normalize her breathing. "We should, you know, be together."

"Ah, so that's what you want," he said. She bit her lip and nodded her head in answer. "Well than, that's what you'll get," he promised as he began searching through the clothing on the floor next to him.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"I know I said earlier that I wanted to get right on that 'making kids' business but I've thought about it a little more and I think we should wait...at least a week or so," he joked. "So..." he said pulling his wallet out from his discarded pants' pocket. "We'll need this," he added, extracting the condom from within.

"Well that was convenient," she noted.

"I'm a guy Ace; I always have a condom in my wallet. Although this one's been in there a while," he said to assure her, "so I should probably check the expiration date." He looked at the wrapper to confirm its merits. "OK, we're good to go." He stood up and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips before dragging her over in front of his desk. He lifted his arm, preparing to clear a space for them.

"Logan, what are you doing?" Rory said in horror.

"I've always wanted to do this in a moment of passion," he told her.

"But you'll break everything."

"I'll buy new things," he said simply.

"But your laptop. It's got all your work on it," she argued.

"You're a strange girl, Ace."

"It's got all your settings like you like them."

He considered this more carefully. "Yeah, plus all those naked pictures of you from college," he joked.

"Logan," she scolded and slapped him playfully.

"Alright, you can move the laptop to safety," he agreed.

She took the computer in her hands and searched for a place to put it before deciding to set it on top of the file cabinet.

"Ready now?" he asked.

"I suppose."

He lifted his arm again and in one swift, sweeping motion he brushed everything off the desk. "That was so cool." he said with a smile. He picked Rory up and sat her on the desk. She wrapped her legs around him and he moved in so they could share another passionate kiss. He reached his arms around her to remove her bra, the last item of clothing she still wore. Once the bra was gone he caressed her now bare breasts and she arched her back and she moaned into his mouth. "Now Logan, please," she said pulling away from his mouth and dropping her legs from around his waist. She reached down and tugged at his boxers. He took them the rest of the way off and grabbed for the condom where he had laid it on the desk. He tore it open and rolled it on to himself.

"Rory," he said before making another move.

"Hmm?" she asked in a dreamy tone. She was dying for his touch.

"I love you."

She opened her eyes to look straight into his and smiled. "I love you too Logan."

He laid her back on the desk and climbed on top. As he entered her she moaned his name, "Logan."

"Rory," he grunted in pleasure at the feel of her surrounding him. He leaned down for a kiss before thrusting into her. She lifted her hips up to meet him.

"Oh God," she screamed, wrapping her legs around him to draw him deeper. He continued to thrust into her; they moved in synchrony right down to their breathing. Soon he felt her getting closer. Normally he would hold back, hoping to bring her to climax twice before it ended but she had said she wanted them to come to together this first time and he wanted that too. So when he felt her tightening around him, he left himself go. They both lost themselves in the ecstasy at the same moment, screaming out to each other. And then there was peace.

Logan remained motionless for a moment until he regained enough strength to move. Forgetting where he was he rolled off of her and fell off the desk with a thud. "Oof" he grunted as he hit the floor. Rory rolled her head to the side to see him where he landed. She began laughing despite the fact that she was already gasping for breath.

"What can I say?" he asked as he lifted himself back up. He removed the condom and disposed of it in the waste basket before collapsing into his desk chair. "I fell for you," he grinned.

She stopped her laughing and suddenly looked very serious. "I'm going to have to insist you don't speak immediately after sex if you're going to say such stupid things."

"Sorry," he said with a laugh, leaning back in his chair and staring at her intently. She still hadn't caught her breath and he watched the movement of her chest as she gasped for air. A few droplets of sweat glistened off her milky white skin. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" she asked him.

"Are you serious Ace?" She nodded her head in response. "You really think a guy needs an excuse to stare at his hot girlfriend while she's lying stark naked on his office desk?"

"I am not stark naked," she argued. He looked at her strangely. "I'm wearing the shoes," she said, lifting one of her legs up and pointing at her high heel.

He laughed at her. "Of course, we can't forget the shoes."

"Hey, you're the one who was so intent on me keeping them on," she argued as she sat up. She reached behind her and picked something up off the desk. "Next time we have sex in your office we're doing it on the couch," she said, throwing the object at him. It was a large rubber eraser. "I was lying on _that _the whole time. Not comfortable, let me tell you."

"Hey now Ace, no need to get violent," he told her as he dodged the eraser. "Where are you going?" he asked her as she jumped off the desk and walked across the room.

"To the large pile of clothes so I can do something about the stark nakedness," she replied, motioning to her body as though she were Vanna White. She bent down, picking up his shirt and buttoning it on. She also grabbed her underwear and slipped into it.

"But I liked you naked," he whined.

"Oh, poor baby," she replied sarcastically.

"Yes, I'm very deprived."

"Well I'll see what I can do about that later. But first I must have food."

"Food?" He asked her.

"Yes, I just worked up quite an appetite. I take it you put all that Chinese in the refrigerator in the break room?" she inquired.

"Yeah, it's in there."

"OK, good. I'll be right back," she said as she opened the door a crack and peeked outside.

"Ace, it's 11 at night, there's nobody out there, just go."

"Fine," she said and sprinted out of the room. She returned a couple of minutes later balancing two unopened cokes, two cartons of food and two pairs of chopsticks. Logan had thrown on his boxers and moved over to the sofa. She handed him his food and joined him, sitting herself between his legs and leaning back on his chest, snuggling into him before dipping the chopsticks into the Chinese food and popping a morsel of sesame chicken into her mouth. "Mmmm, yummy."

Logan bent his head down and placed a wet, sloppy kiss on her shoulder. "Very yummy," he agreed.

Rory rolled her eyes, "I meant the food."

"I didn't."

"Geez Huntzberger, it's only been like, five minutes. You can't be ready for another go already."

"I can do anything I set my mind to," he argued.

Rory sighed, "I assure you, you will get laid again, but first you have to let me eat my dinner. You should eat something too," she ordered, poking him in the chest with her chopsticks. "You're going to need the energy," she smirked at him.

"Promise?" he asked with a goofy grin.

She nodded her head in response, "Promise."

Logan turned suddenly serious. "I love you Rory. You know that, right?"

"You may have mentioned it once or twice," she quipped.

"I just want to make sure you know how much you mean to me. You gave up a lot after all."

Rory shifted her weight to face him and looked him straight in the eyes. "And I'm not regretting it," she assured him. "It took me a long time to come to this decision, I don't need to tell you that, but as soon as I did I knew it was right. You're the one for me Logan. I love you."

"God Rory, you have no idea how good that is to hear," he smiled.

"You keep doing that," she said, with narrowed eyes.

"What?"

"Calling me Rory."

"Well that is your name," he replied, wondering why she might object to that.

"Yeah but you usually only say it when you're really serious."

"And telling you I love you isn't serious?" he asked.

"No, it is but you said it before too."

"OK you're going to have to be more specific than 'before'," he told her, not really sure when she was referring to.

She sighed. "When we were having sex."

"Ah," he said with a smile.

"You always used to call me 'Ace' during sex."

"It didn't feel right this time," he replied shrugging her shoulders.

"Why not?" she asked him.

"Because we weren't just having sex," he told her.

"We weren't?" she looked at him skeptically. "Well than, enlighten me Mr. Huntzberger, what were we doing?"

"It's nothing, forget it," he replied dismissively.

"But I wanna know," she pouted and he felt his resolve melting away. She could get anything out of him with just one look.

"It's stupid," he argued.

"Pretty please," she asked again.

"Fine," he grunted. "We weren't just having sex, we were- and I realize that these next words are going to make me sound like a complete girl but- we weren't just having sex, we were...making love." He winced as the words came out of his mouth. They were true but he still felt completely unmasculine saying them out loud.

She laughed a little, thinking how adorable he was. She set her food down and laced her fingers with his. Lifting their hands up, she placed a kiss on the back of his. "That wasn't stupid," she told him with a smile. "That wasn't stupid at all."

"It's just, I didn't realize how I felt about you until after we broke up so that was the first time since..."

"Since we both said 'I love'," she finished for him. She now understood exactly why he paused to tell her that immediately before the act.

"I'm sorry it wasn't more romantic."

She shook her head, "It was perfect...You're perfect."

He laughed. "No I'm not."

"No, you're really not," she agreed.

"Don't hesitate to jump on the bandwagon there, Ace," he said, pretending to be hurt.

"You're perfect for _me_," she corrected.

"You know, we're not even back together for a couple of hours and we're already sickeningly sweet."

She laughed, "We really are, aren't we?"

"Yes; if I was someone else and I saw us acting this sweet, I would feel the need to mock us mercilessly."

"We could go back to your apartment and do something...not so sweet," she suggested.

"We could _definitely_ do that," he answered but then his face fell. "Oh no."

"What?"

"Colin and Finn are probably there. I don't know how their dates went but knowing them they blew it and are now sitting in my living room drinking massive amounts of alcohol."

"I don't think we need to worry about those two," she told him.

"Why do you say that?" he asked curiously.

"I kicked them out."

"_You_ kicked Colin and Finn out of _my_ apartment?" he asked, clearly not believing her.

"Fine, I didn't kick them out _exactly_. It was more like Colin offered to find them somewhere else to go for the night," she amended.

"Oh, and why would he do that?"

"Well when I stopped by your place earlier..."

"Hold on a second, you stopped by my place?" he asked.

"Yeah, well I wasn't counting on you falling asleep at you desk and being here till all hours of the night."

"So Colin and Finn know?"

"They were able to deduce, yes."

"So they knew I was getting lucky tonight before I did?"

She laughed. "Yes."

"That is soo not fair Ace."

"Life's not fair," she quipped. "I'm getting dressed, you call Frank and get the car," she added, standing up from the sofa.

"Fine, hand me my cell phone, will ya," he said, playfully slapping her ass as she stood up.

"Hey!" she whined.

"Oh don't complain, you loved it," he smirked.

She turned and glared at him. "Where's the phone," she asked him.

"Oh somewhere in that mess we made all over the floor."

She bent down to sift through the clutter surrounding his desk. Logan looked on as his shirt shifted on her, no longer concealing her black, lace panties. "You're staring at my ass, aren't you?" she asked him as she picked the phone up and tossed it to him.

"It's a very nice ass," he said in his defense. She just shook her head before going to pick up her bra which was also by the desk. This time she made sure to bend at the knees. "Ruin my fun," he whined.

"Just call the car and get dressed already," she replied, slipping out of his shirt and tossing it over his head. He scrambled to move the shirt from covering his eyes but by the time he could see again she had her back turned to him and was already clasping the bra back on. He sighed in disappointment.

Once they were fully dressed and the car was called they made their way down to the lobby. "How long is the car ride back to your apartment?" she suddenly asked.

"About fifteen minutes, why?"

"Hold on for just one second," she answered, running off across the lobby. He watched on in confusion as she entered the ladies room. Hadn't she just gone when they were upstairs? She stepped back out of the bathroom a minute later, walking back up to him. "Fifteen minutes, you think it's enough?" she asked pushing something at him. He took the item from her hand and realized it was a condom.

"You got this from the ladies room?" he asked her curiously.

"Uh huh, they're in a dispenser right next to the tampons."

"Do they have them in the men's room too?"

She laughed at him. "I'm gonna guess no to the tampons and yes to the condoms but you'll have to investigate that one yourself."

"Some other time. Let's go," he said pulling her towards the door.

"So you think it's enough time?" she reasked her original question.

"Hmm, let me think...if I try real hard and don't think about baseball..." he began with a smirk as they stepped out of the building

"Do you _usually_ think about baseball when we're having sex?" she asked.

"It's for your own good, I assure you Ace," he laughed, as they reached the limo and he opened the door to let her in.

"Whatever, let's get going," she said as she climbed in the car, pulling him in behind her. They shut the door and for the next fifteen minutes they lost themselves to eachother.


	26. Very, Very Thankful

Logan rolled over in the bed, hesitating before opening his eyes. When he finally found the courage to pry them open he sighed in relief. She was lying there, staring at him with her big blue eyes. "Oh thank god your not a dream," he told her with a smile.

She smiled back. "If that's what you do to me in your dreams it's a wonder you're ever functional because that would _not_ make for a very restful sleep."

He leaned in for a quick kiss. "How long have you been awake?" he asked her.

"Not very long- five, maybe ten minutes."

"And you thought you'd pretend to be Bridgette Jones and I'm your Mark Darcy?" he asked with a grin.

"Hey, if you can stare at me right after we have sex, I can stare at you while you're sleeping," she retorted.

"Don't worry, I wasn't complaining."

"Good."

"So I don't suppose I could get a proper good morning?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I might be able to arrange that for you," she grinned.

"That's what I like to hear," he ran his hand softly down her arm and leaned in to capture her lips in a passionate embrace. At that moment his cell phone began to ring and he groaned frustratedly. "Go away," he mumbled, keeping his lips a mere hairs breadth away from hers, hoping not to have to pull away. The phone continued to ring, however, and he finally relented and turned over to answer it. "What?"

"Some one's grumpy this morning," Honor's voice chirped through the phone line. "You're not still in bed are you?"

"Maybe," he told her.

"Logan, it's 10AM," she chided him.

"So? That's not very late."

"You haven't slept passed 9, even on your days off, since you started to work for Dad and got used to rising with the sun in order to fulfill your Huntzberger duties."

"Well I didn't get much sleep last night," he replied, shooting a conspiratory smirk Rory's way.

Rory smiled back, remembering exactly why they didn't get much sleep. An idea suddenly sprung to her mind and her smile grew even bigger as she decided on her course of action. She climbed on top of Logan and began planting soft kisses all around his chest.

Logan suppressed a groan. Having his sister on the phone and his Ace naked on top of him was _not_ a good combination. "_Stop_" he mouthed at Rory but she just looked back at him mischievously and went back to what she was doing. Logan took a deep breath a tried to concentrate on what Honor was saying.

"So what are your plans for today?" she asked him.

"I don't know," he replied evasively. He looked down at Rory who was still teasing him mercilessly. He knew exactly what his plans for the day were but he sure as hell wasn't going to tell his sister that.

"Well are Colin and Finn still there?" she asked him.

"Umm, I think they're around somewhere. They had dates last night, don't think they ever made it back." He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, trying not to react to Rory's continued attack as she moved her kisses southward. She was getting very, very difficult to ignore.

"Is something wrong?" she asked him, "You're acting strange."

"Am I?"

"You're just rather...terse, this morning."

"I'm fine, just a little distracted," he responded and he looked back down at Rory. She smiled up at him before looking away again and dipping her tongue into his belly button. He involuntarily gasped for air.

"Oh my God, Logan Huntzberger, is there a girl in that bed with you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Honor," he replied innocently.

"Oh God, please tell me I didn't call in the middle of something dirty," she remarked.

"You didn't call in the middle of something dirty," he assured her. "You called at the beginning."

"Ewwwwwwwww. I don't need to hear this stuff from my little brother," she groaned in disgust.

He laughed at her but stopped suddenly as he felt the Egyptian cotton sheets covering his lower half being nudged farther down. Enough was enough. "Ace you have _got_ to stop that." She laughed but finally obliged, rolling off of him and snuggling up next to him, resting her head on his chest.

"Ruin my fun," she whined, repeating his line from the previous night.

He shook his head at her with a smile and went back to his phone conversation. "So Honor, was there a point to this phone call?" he asked but there was dead silence on the other end of the line. "Honor?"

"_What_ did you just say?" she asked slowly and Logan could almost see the wide eyed look of shock on his sister's face as he realized what he had let slip.

"I asked if there was a point to this phone call," he responded, being purposely obtuse.

"Logan," she said sternly.

"Oh, you meant before that?" he asked with a smile on his face.

"Yes, before that."

"So you were referring to the part where I was talking to Ace?" he said nonchalantly.

"Oh my God! Ohmygod ohmygod!" she gushed excitedly. "So I _wasn't_ just imagining it. When did this happen? How did this happen?" her voice turned suddenly somber. "Oh Logan please tell me she's not still...I mean you two aren't..."

"Geez Honor, no," he said defensively. "She's all mine," he added in much happier tone of voice. "As of just last night."

"Well why the hell didn't you say something sooner? If I had known I was interrupting a beautiful reunion I wouldn't have kept you so long. Eeeeek, I'm so excited for you little brother," she told him giddily. Though she had discouraged Logan from pursuing Rory it was only in an attempt to prevent his heart from being broken. The truth was she had always wanted them to work it out and she couldn't have been happier for him than she was at that moment.

"Thanks, Honor. I'm excited for me too," he replied, placing a soft kiss on the top of Rory's head and stroking her hair softly. Yes, he was definitely excited, in more ways than one.

"OK, well than, I'll talk to you later...and I want details. No, strike that, no details necessary- you are my brother after all. Bye Logan."

"Bye Honor," he replied.

"Bye Honor," Rory shouted at the phone.

"Bye Rory," she replied loudly, though she knew she probably wouldn't hear it. "Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving, Logan; that's why I called in the first place."

He looked at the beautiful brunette in his arms. It definitely was. "Happy Thanksgiving," he told his sister before hanging up the phone.

Before he knew what was happening Rory had jumped out of bed. "Shit," she cursed.

"Ace, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice trembling. Just a few moments ago she had been more than happy to share a bed with him, in fact he was really hoping that once he got off the phone she would go back to what he had made her stop doing during his conversation with Honor. Only now she was cursing and running around his room frantically looking for her clothes. That could not be a good sign.

She stopped momentarily and looked up at him, holding her sweater up in front of her for cover. "It's Thanksgiving, Logan," she said as though that explained it all.

"Yes and I'm _very_, _very_ thankful," he assured her. "If you'll just calm down and get back into bed I'll show you just how thankful I am," he promised, trying to coax her back into his arms. He didn't know what he'd do if he lost her again.

"_Back into bed?_ I can't get back into bed Logan, I should have left for Stars Hollow at least an hour ago. I still need to go home and shower and pack. I'll never make it to dinner on time."

Logan breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't freaking out about them. "Is that all?" he asked calmly.

"'Is that all?'" she asked incredulously. "Logan, my Mom is going to kill me if I'm not there, and then she will kill _you_ for being the reason I wasn't there"

"Well we wouldn't want that; the whole Le Stat, 'die young, stay pretty,' philosophy never really worked for me. Tell you what, get back in bed with me for an hour and I promise to have you in Stars Hollow by 2."

"Are you insane Logan?" If I don't leave here till 11 I won't be on the road till almost 1. It takes almost four hours on a good day and this is Thanksgiving. This is all your fault" She was flailing her arms about manically by this point, completely forgetting her current case of nudity. Logan smiled as he watched her.

"All my fault?" he asked her incredulously but his smile never faltered as she continued her naked rant.

"Yes."

"Hey, I'm not the one who said, and I quote, 'stop acting like such a girl and just undress me already.' I'm also not the one who woke _you_ up and 3 AM looking for a little hanky panky."

"Well you certainly weren't complaining at 3AM when I was looking for 'a little hanky panky'. You didn't say 'go back to bed Ace, we have the rest of lives to have sex'." Logan smiled broadly at what she had just said; they had the rest of their lives to have sex. That was definitely something he was looking forward to, but that didn't mean he didn't want to get some right away.

"Come on. Just come back to bed. Trust me, Ace, you'll be there in time," he assured her.

"What? Did you suddenly develop the ability to apparate? Invent a portkey? Maybe you have some floo powder hanging around?"

Logan shook his head at her in amusement. She was cute when she was freaking out; especially when she was naked and freaking out. "Come on, just get back in bed."

She sighed defeatedly. What else could she do but trust him? She climbed back into bed. "This had better be good, Huntzberger."

He wrapped his arm around her and drew her into him. He gave her a quick peck on the lips before reaching for his phone. Rory listened in to his side of the phone conversation wondering just how he was going to pull this off.

"Hello? Sid? It's Logan Huntzberger," he told the person on the other line. "I'm really sorry about the short notice and all, especially since it's a holiday but it's kind of an emergency...Stars Hollow, it's about 30 miles south of Hartford...yeah, that's fine just make sure there's a car waiting when we land...Uh huh...do you think you could have her fueled up and ready to go by 1? That'll be great, thanks so much...Happy Thanksgiving to you too." He hung up the phone and turned to Rory. "We have to be at the helipad by 1" he told her.

"The helicopter?" she asked laughing.

"I know it's not exactly a portkey but this will have to do, for I am only a mere muggle."

"Wait a minute, did you say _we_ have to be there by 1?" she asked.

"You're not gonna let me spend Thanksgiving all by my lonesome, are you?" he asked, giving her his best puppy dog eyes. He just got her back, he certainly wasn't ready to spend any time away from her already.

She sighed, this was bad. Sure she wanted Logan to come with her; the thought of leaving him already, even for just a few days was horrible but he couldn't go to Thanksgiving in Stars Hollow with her, it was a recipe for disaster. She sat up to look at him straight on. "Logan," she began. She tugged the top sheet up to cover her bare chest.

"Oh please, you're going to be modest now?" he asked in regards to the gesture. "You were just running around my room in a frenzy, baring it all."

She felt a blush creep up in her cheeks, she really had done that, hadn't she? "Logan," she said again. "You can't come with me."

"Why not," he pouted. "Are you ashamed of me?" he joked. She looked at him sadly. "Oh god, you're ashamed of me."

"I'm not ashamed of you Logan, don't be silly. It's just...I should really tell my Mom about this first before showing up all 'here we are'. And then there's Jess to consider. I don't want to flaunt this in his face, it's not right."

"Jess is going to be there?" he asked, trying not to sound jealous.

"Of course he is," she said like it should be common knowledge.

"Well excuse me if I'm a little surprised by the fact that your _ex_-fiance would travel all that way to spend Thanksgiving with you and your family," he replied. The jealousy was definitely starting to creep up.

"It's his family too. I mean Liz and TJ are joining us and Tommy, and obviously Luke will be there."

"Who are Liz and TJ and Tommy."

"Liz is his mom, TJ is his step-father and Tom is their baby."

"And what about Luke?"

"Luke is his uncle. You knew that didn't you?"

"Umm, no," he replied. "Wait, Luke is his _uncle_?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah."

"Luke, you're stepfather Luke, _that_ Luke?"

"Uh huh."

"So that would make Jess your..." he began, all traces of jealousy gone.

"Don't you dare say what you're about to say..." she warned him.

"You almost married your _cousin_?" he said laughing hysterically.

"_Step_ cousin." she stressed. "And Jess and I first got together way before Mom and Luke did."

"I'm sorry Ace," he said, gasping for air between bouts of laughter, "But seriously...your cousin?...Aren't there like, laws against that?...Think of the poor children."

"We're not _actually_ related Logan," she replied angrily.

"Come on Ace, you have to admit this is funny."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, keep it up and it might be the only enjoyment you get for quite some time," she threatened, poking him in the chest menacingly.

Logan suddenly sobered up. "You wouldn't," he said, sounding completely unsure of himself.

"You wanna take that risk, be my guest," she smiled at him glibly.

He glowered at her, "You're mean."

"Well you better get used to it, mister, because you're stuck with me now."

"How will I ever survive?" he asked sarcastically.

"I'm sure I could make it worth your while," she answered with a grin. "Now where was I? Ah yes, I remember," she climbed back on top of him and continued where she had left off earlier. After a minute or so Rory stopped and looked up. "I've got an idea," she said smiling.

"Please God, let this idea be related to the fact that you are naked and straddling me," he requested.

She laughed at him. "No, but I think it could lead to some more nudity in the near future," she said with a grin.

"Well than, I'm all ears," he replied, pulling Rory down so that she lay flush on his body.

She remained in that position, her head resting so that her ear was over his heart, and lightly rubbed his arm. "OK, well Jess was only going to stay in Stars Hollow tonight and leave tomorrow because they needed him at the store for the after-Thanksgiving-Christmas rush and by then I will have explained everything to my Mom and Luke. I have to go to dinner at my Grandparent's tomorrow night but after that there's no reason you can't be there with me," she explained. "Why don't you come down tomorrow night and spend the weekend. I bet I could get us a room at a romantic little inn, I have some pull with the owner, ya know," she continued and Logan could feel her lips curve upward against his chest.

"Hmm, let me see...A romantic weekend in a quaint little inn with my beautiful girl? I don't know..." he pretended to think about it.

"Loooogan," she whined.

He smiled, "Wild horses couldn't keep me away."


	27. Helicopter

An hour later they were lying in each other's arms, both half asleep as the alarm rang out. Logan slapped his hand down on the snooze button and immediately brought his arm back down around Rory. She stretched and tried to roll out of his grasp but he tightened his hold on her. "Logan, I have to get up," she mumbled.

"No, bed good," he retaliated.

"Logan, I have to go. I still have to go back to my place and get ready," she argued but her words lacked emphasis; she didn't really want to get up either.

"I can take you straight from here," he muttered, refusing to open his eyes. "Than we can stay in bed longer."

"Logan, I have to pack. I was supposed to do it last night but as you can guess, _that _never happened."

"Buy new clothes there," he suggested.

"Logan, you don't pay me enough to buy a whole new wardrobe," she said, smiling at his antics.

"I'll give you a raise," he offered sleepily.

"You do realize that offering me money to spend time in bed with you is called prostitution, right?" she said with a laugh.

"But it's not faaaair," he whined like a three year old.

"I also have to shower," she continued to protest.

"Well now _that_ you can definitely do here," he told her, waking up fully at the thought. "In fact, I can help you."

"Thanks for the offer," she chuckled, "but I need to get clean and what you're suggesting is very very dirty."

"Getting dirty is much more fun than getting clean," he pointed out.

"Tell you what, you let me go and I promise you one dirty shower at the Inn this weekend," she offered.

"Only one?" he pouted.

"I'm only promising one, but be a good boy and you never know what rewards might be headed your way," she grinned.

"You drive a hard bargain Miss Gilmore," he said, releasing her from his grasp.

She smiled at him as she rolled out of bed. "Come on, get up. You can come with me to get my stuff and see me off at the helipad...Hmm, that sounds weird...see me off at the helipad, like flying in a helicopter is an every day occurrence."

"You sure it's OK for me to go back to your apartment with you?" he asked. He was more than happy to but he didn't want to have any unpleasant run-ins. "I mean he..."

"Will be half way to Stars Hollow by now. Don't worry about it," she replied, heading off towards the bathroom.

Logan climbed out of bed and walked over to his closet to start getting dressed. He had just pulled on a pair of khakis when he heard an unfamiliar ring tone.

Searching around for the source he noticed Rory's purse on the floor in the corner and he went to pick it up. He looked at the caller ID and yelled to the bathroom, "Hey, it's Sue."

"Answer it," she called back.

"You really think that's wise? If I answer your phone don't you think she'll know something's going on?"

"Exactly," she replied walking out of the bathroom fully dressed. "Oh and make sure to put it on speaker phone, I want to hear her reaction," she said with a wicked grin.

Logan smiled at her and shook his head. She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to do as she told. With one more glance at her, he smiled and flipped open the phone. "Hey Sue," he greeted as nonchalantly as he could. Rory stood there and watched, trying not to giggle.

"Hi...ummm Logan?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yep."

"Sorry, I must have..." Sue trailed off and Logan and Rory looked at each other, holding back laughter. It was clear that Sue was looking to make sure she didn't accidentally call the wrong number. "...No, this is definitely Rory's number. Logan, why are you answering Rory's phone?"

"Because it was ringing," he answered.

"Yes, but why are _you _answering it?" she asked again.

"Because I wanted it to stop ringing," he replied through gritted teeth. It was not going to be easy to keep this up for long.

"You're going to force me to be blunt, aren't you?"

Logan looked over at Rory who was biting at her nails to keep from laughing out loud. "Why, what ever do you mean?" he asked Sue.

"Logan..."

"Sue..."

"Will you just freaking tell me already?" she burst out.

"Tell you what?" he asked innocently.

"Ugh...If John Smith got his fucking Pocahontas," she screamed frustratedly.

"That comparison doesn't really work; John Smith and Pocahontas weren't at the first Thanksgiving, they met in Jamestown at least a decade before the Pilgrims even landed on Plymouth Rock."

"I hate you Huntzberger," she sneered.

"That's good to know," he chuckled. "Here, talk to Ace, she'll fill you in on all the sordid details, I'm sure." He tossed the phone to Rory. "Not too sordid," he told her. "I like to keep _some _stuff just between us."

"Yes, dear," she responded sarcastically before taking the phone off speaker and turning her attention to her best friend. "Hey, Sue."

"Hey Sue? _Hey Sue_? That's all you have to say for yourself is _Hey Sue_?" The red head screamed though the phone line.

"Umm, Happy Thanksgiving," she added with a laugh.

"When the hell did this happen? Yesterday at work you were all sullen and confused and now he's answering your phone and you're saying things like 'yes dear.'"

"Well, what can I say? I had a 'eureka' moment," Rory shrugged.

"Is this why I had a voice mail from a drunken Australian singing "Logan and Reporter Girl sitting in a tree'?"

"Oh Sue tell me you didn't..." Rory responded worriedly.

"Didn't what?" she asked.

"I warned you. I _told _you not to give Finn your phone number."

"Why not? He seems like a pretty cool guy," Sue replied.

"He is; we wouldn't be friends with him if he wasn't but that doesn't mean that he won't harass you until you leave Tim and fall into bed with him. He _is _Finn after all."

"I'm sure you're exaggerating," Sue said, not at all concerned.

"You keep telling yourself that."

"You're such a drama queen Gilmore," Sue said with a sigh. "Now, about those sordid details."

"Tact never was your forte, was it?"

"Tact is just not saying true stuff," Sue quoted Cordellia Chase.

"Ah yes, I believe I read that on the 'Everything I need to know in life I learned from Buffy the Vampire Slayer' poster," Rory looked over at Logan and rolled her eyes and he just laughed. He knew how unrelenting Sue could be. He walked back over to her and grabbed the phone from her hand.

"OK Sue, I'm gonna have to steal her back now if I'm going to get her to the helicopter on time so she'll have to fill you in on those details later. She'd probably prefer to do it when I'm not around anyhow because she hates to inflate my ego bigger than it already it. We'll see you on Monday," and with that he clicked the phone shut.

Rory put put her hands on her hips and looked at Logan disapprovingly. "What makes you so sure those details would boost your self image, Mr. Huntzberger?"

"Well you weren't calling me 'Oh God' for nothing," he retorted and she just glared at him . Rory's phone rang again and she yanked it from Logan's hands.

"What now Sue?" she asked without even looking at the caller ID.

"Helicopter? He has a freaking _helicopter_?"

"Good bye Sue," Rory said hanging up on Sue once again.

----------------------------------------------------------------

"OK, I think I've got everything I need," Rory said, rolling her bags out into the living room.

Logan looked at her incredulously. "Ace, you're only going to be there for fourdays,"

She examined the things before her, thinking pensively. "You're right, I should pack an extra pair of jeans...oh and those new boots."

"I should know better," he said with a shake of his head as she ran off towards the bedroom.

She turned and smiled back. "You're just a little rusty in the Gilmore ways, you'll get used to me again," she assured him.

She disappeared into her bedroom again for a moment before returning with the aforementioned items. Logan spoke up as she tried to stuff the things into her already overfilled bags. "OK so I spoke to Sid, the pilot, and he said there's no where to land in Stars Hollow. Not that that's a surprise..."

"Yes and a helicopter descending upon our small village would probably wind up in the local paper as an extra-terrestrial attack with rumors of my abduction and appointment as alien princess," Rory retorted.

"Right, the quirkiness of Stars Hollow has faded in my mind over time. Anyhow, you're going to land in Bridgeport and there will be a car there to take you home. Call me when you get there so I know everything went smoothly," he ordered.

"I'm a big girl Logan, I can find my way home. I don't need a daddy," she retorted.

"How about a sugar daddy?" he asked with a gleam in his eye.

"Well let's see; we had lots of sex and now you're chartering me a helicopter. I think that pretty much fits the definition."

"Is that all I am to you? A black card and a good lay? I'm wounded, Ace," he mock pouted.

"Of course that's not all you are, baby," she said giving him a quick kiss on the lips. "You're also my bellhop; grab those bags for me will ya?" she said as she walked off towards the door.

"OK, now you're sure you have everything?" he asked sarcastically.

"I think I've...oh no! I almost forgot," she gasped as she ran back to her room yet again.

"You know, I was joking, Ace," he called after her.

"This is important. I'll be right there." she disappeared and reappeared a moment later, fastening something to her ear.

"Earrings? That's what was so urgent? You can't go three whole days without changing up your accessories?" he asked, throwing his arms up in frustration; women!

"These are special earrings, Logan," she told him, pulling her hair off her face to reveal the pink sapphire jewels he had given her for her birthday.

He smiled brightly. "They look just as beautiful on your perfect ears as I imagined."

"Perfect ears? Are you serious? That's cheesy even for you," Rory told him with a disappointed shake of her head.

"Hey, no part of you is insignificant," he defended. "You can't take part in our witty banter if you can't hear my ingenious remarks, and don't tell me you don't love your ears when I'm doing this to them..." he leaned into her and took one lobe into his mouth, avoiding the earring, and sucked softly.

She closed her eyes and moaned in pleasure. "Logan," she said breathily, "We...we have to go."

Logan pulled back and rested his forehead on hers. "Don't sound too convincing there, Ace." he replied sarcastically before completely separating himself from her. "OK, now let's get this stuff to the car," he added, grabbing hold of Rory's suitcases and making his way out the door.

They got outside and climbed into the limo. Once they were seated, Rory rested her head on his shoulder and he threw his arm around her. "So what are your plans for the rest of the day?" she asked him. "Please tell me you'll do something somewhat festive."

"Of course I will. I'll have the boys over and we'll watch football and eat pizza. It doesn't get more festive than that," he replied with a grin.

"Logan," she chided. "Pizza has many virtues, especially when it has meatballs and extra cheese, but it is _not _a Thanksgiving dinner. A Jewish Christmas dinner, maybe, but not a Thanksgiving one."

"No, you've got it all wrong, Ace. The Italians are all Catholic, they aren't open for business on Christmas. Jews eat _Chinese _food to celebrate the birth of someone else's God."

"Well it doesn't really matter because you aren't Jewish and we're not celebrating the birth of a god; we're celebrating the plundering of the land from the Indians. You're supposed to have turkey for that."

"Well if it makes you feel any better we'll take shots of _Wild _Turkey every time the Jets score," he promised.

"Why is that not comforting?" she asked with a scowl. "I'll have Sookie save you some turkey for tomorrow."

"Sounds good," he said as the car came to a stop. "Come on, we're here." He opened the door and they stepped outside to find the helicopter humming loudly.

Logan walked up to a man whom Rory assumed was the pilot and he had a few words with him before shaking his hand and turning back to her. "You're good to go," he screamed over the sound of the motor. "Call me when you get there."

"I will," she promised with a roll of her eyes as she walked off towards the chopper. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back. She spun around to face him and he pulled her in for a kiss. They pulled apart and he leaned into her ear so she could hear him, "Love ya."

"Love you too," she said with a smile before getting onto the helicopter for real. He would never get tired of hearing her say those words.


	28. Start Spreading the News

**AN: First off to anyone over at Illusive who voted for this story as featured story I want to thank you. I was sooooo soooo excited about getting that distinction. It's seriously a huge honor because there are sooooo many great stories out there. Anyhow, here's another chapter to feed your frenzy. I hope you like it and please please please leave a review and I will love you forever. :)**

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As the car approached the outskirts of Stars Hollow, Rory began to get nervous. Arriving in style like this was a sure fire way to draw the attention of her kooky, small town neighbors. The one saving grace was that the vehicle that had picked her up had been a town car and not a stretch limo, so at least it wasn't _quite _so conspicuous. If only she hadn't brought so much luggage she could have asked the driver to drop her off just outside town and walked the short distance to the house. Well, it looked like the luggage wouldn't be going home right away; she would just bring it directly to the Dragonfly so she could avoid driving straight through the center of town. "Turn left here, please," she directed the driver, guiding him through the streets in a circuitous fashion to circumvent the nosiest of the town's gossip mongers.

A few minutes later, the car drove up the gravel pathway to the Dragonfly Inn and came to a stop. The driver got out and came around to open the door for Rory. "Thank you," she told him. Her eyes darted around, praying no one was outside, luckily her prayers were answered. The driver took Rory's bags out of the trunk and began to bring them inside. "No," she stopped him. "Leave them please, I'll take them in." The driver looked unsure but relented and let go of the bags. Rory tipped him and sent him away as quickly as possible. She breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that her mother had not seen the car; it would have been a dead give away and she wanted to tell Lorelai herself.

Rory grabbed the suitcases and rolled them towards the Inn. "Hey Michel," she greeted the Frenchman at the counter.

"Little Lorelai, what a pleasure to see you," he replied, sarcasm dripping from his words.

Rory responded with a small smile; it was nice to be home, back in good, old, predictable Stars Hollow. "Could you put these bags aside for me please?" she asked of him.

"But of course, what do I look like? A servant?" he sneered.

Rory looked at him appraising, "Hmm, no; I don't think I would go with servant," she cocked her head to the side and stared for a moment. "I've got it!" she said excitedly. "Employee! That's it, you look like an employee. You know, someone who gets paid to do things like put luggage aside."

He glowered at her but came around the desk and took the luggage. "Your mother is in the dining room," he said, effectively dismissing her.

Rory stuffed her now free hands into her coat pockets and headed off towards the dining room and her mother. As soon as she had crossed the threshold Lorelai spotted her and squealed. "Rory, only child, fruit of my loins, you're here!" the older woman ran to her and embraced her daughter in a rib crushing hug. Rory stood there tensely, afraid to hug back because it would require her to remove her hands from their safe woolen hide away. "What was that" Lorelai asked as she released her grip and stepped back.

"What?" Rory asked.

"You haven't seen your mother in over a month and you can't even give her a hug? What kind of greeting is that for the woman who spent 18 hours in excruciating pain to bring your pretty, little self into this world?" Lorelai took another step back and examined her daughter. "Why won't you take your hands our of your pockets?" she asked.

"Can we go somewhere and talk Mom?" Rory asked.

Lorelai didn't answer for a moment as she looked around the room, peaking around Rory to look through the entryway towards the lobby of the Inn. "Where's Jess?"

"Mom," Rory tried again.

Lorelai, still acting as though Rory had not said a word, continued to size up to the younger Gilmore and then grabbed her left arm, yanking it from the coat pocket. "Ah hah! I knew something was up!" she pointed triumphantly at Rory's hand. "No ring. When did this happen? Were you planning on telling me or were you just going to wait until I showed up at the church and realized no one was there?" she raved.

"Mom," Rory interjected.

"I mean seriously, you think you'd tell your best friend and giver of life that she was going to have to wait a bit longer for those grandchildren but I guess I'm not a priority any more."

"Mom," Rory tried again.

"Yes?" Lorelai stopped ranting and looked at her daughter, acknowledging her words for the first time since she had walked through the door.

"Can we please talk about this somewhere a little more private?" she wanted to tell her mother the whole story without intrusion and if there was one thing that could be counted on in Stars Hollow it was other people intruding on your business.

Lorelai looked around as though just realizing they were smack dab in the middle of the Inn for all to see and hear. Of course not many people had shown up yet and no one of significance had witnessed the scene but that could change at any given moment. "Right, come on," she said, leading Rory to her office and shutting the door behind her.

"OK, now tell Mommy all about it," she ordered, plopping herself down in the chair behind her desk. "Oh my little heart breaker," Lorelai added, her voice filled with something that sounded almost like...pride? "Running out on a wedding; I've taught you well. Now if only you had waited until the day before, not told him, and run off to Harvard, I could really call you my own."

Rory looked at her mother strangely. "Kidding," Lorelai finally said.

Rory chuckled and shook her head in amusement. "No, I just waited until the day before Thanksgiving, told him I was in love with another man, and ran off to Stars Hollow. Of course that's not very effective running since he's coming here too."

"Ahh, good it did only happen yesterday. In that case I will forgive you for not telling me sooner on account of the fact that you were, no doubt, busy having an all night sex marathon with this so called 'other man'." Lorelai grinned a knowing grin.

"Moooom," Rory whined. "Must you be so blunt? You know how I hate it when you talk about sex."

Lorelai just scoffed. "If you're old enough to have it, you're old enough to tell your Mommy all about it."

"Well unfortunately for you I'm going to insist on skimping on the details but suffice it to say I had a very good night...and morning. You're not mad, are you?"

"Mad, why would I be mad?"

"Well you were never exactly Logan's biggest fan.

"No, but if you'll recall, I was never really waving any pompoms around in Jess's honor either. But he was important to you and eventually I learned to accept, and heck, even like the guy," Lorelai reminded her daughter.

"So you're saying you accept and like Logan now?" Rory asked tentatively.

"Well let's hold off on the like part, I never really did get to know him. But you're in love with him and as far as I know he's always treated you well; his family hasn't but heck, if Luke blamed me for every awful thing your grandparents ever said to him I would have wound up dying an old spinster with a house full of cats. And as long as you promise not to let him talk you into committing any felonies, I'm good. As long as you're happy, I'm happy for you, kid."

"Thanks Mom...Not to press my luck but why are you so much more accepting now than you were the first time around?"

Lorelai sighed and leaned back in her chair. "A lot has changed since then, hun. You're not my baby any more."

"Mom, I was 20, I wasn't you're baby back then, either."

"Well, no. Technically you haven't been a baby since you were, well, a baby," Lorelai replied. "It's just, your freshman year of college we were still so close. You came home all the time and we were always talking on the phone. Then sophomore year dawned and you met Logan and things started to change, _you _started to change. You spent more time at Yale, you were leaning towards a world that I had tried so hard to get away from, and then there was the thing with the boat and the dropping out of Yale and we didn't talk, and then he was gone and you came back to me. I guess it was easier to blame him for all of that rather than accept that you were growing up and making your own choices in life. Like I said, you weren't my little baby anymore. But now you're out of school and you moved away and you have your own life. I've learned to accept that you're all grown up and you don't need me as much as you used to. You're a big girl, capable of making your own decisions and I will support you no matter what."

Rory smiled and appreciative smile at her mother. "Thanks."

"No problem, kid. Now tell me how this all happened. Last I heard Logan was ignoring you like the 600 pound gorilla in the room."

Rory began telling her mother the story of the past few days. She told her about Colin and Finn and the dinner they went to with Sue and all of their words of wisdom. She told her about Logan showing up and the kiss outside the restaurant. She told her about the talk she'd had with Logan and finally about the break up with Jess. "And after that, well you know the rest," Rory finished her story.

"Damn, kid. You 'yadda yadda yadda-ed' over the best part and that was still one hell of a story."

"It was quite a roller coaster ride of emotions; I'll tell you that much," Rory chuckled. "Actually, it was more like space camp and right now I feel like I'm in orbit. I mean, yeah Jess made me happy but not like this, Mom. Being with Logan again just feels so right. He makes me feel completely comfortable and completely out of my element at exactly the same time. He's somehow both calming and exhilarating; safe and yet exciting. He's the right guy. I tried to make Jess the right guy but I could only fool myself for so long. It's Logan, it's always been him."

"Aww, you're waxing poetic, you really are in love," Lorelai's voice was mockingly sweet. "So, where is this Mr. Right?"

"He's still in Philadelphia," Rory said a little wistfully.

"He had other plans?"

"Not really, unless you consider watching sports and getting drunk with the boys holiday plans. No, he wanted to come but it wouldn't have been right. I've hurt Jess enough, no point to rubbing salt in his wounds. He should get to enjoy Thanksgiving as much as possible. But I do have a favor to ask..." Rory ventured.

"A favor? You mean carrying you inside of me for 9 months and clothing, feeding and housing you for 18 years wasn't enough?"

"Well just think how easy this favor will be in comparison."

"Fine, but when you and your media mogul get hitched I fully expect to be repaid in Mustang convertibles. Now what is this favor you needed?"

"Well Jess is only staying for tonight," Rory began. "So I invited Logan down for the rest of the weekend. I think he'd prefer not to sleep on the couch in our living room so I thought- hmm, who do I know who owns a fancy Inn with cozy, romantic rooms?"

"You know someone with their own Inn?" Lorelai pretended to be shocked.

"Mooom."

"I suppose I _might _be able to find a spare room," Lorelai sighed, acting as though it were the biggest favor in the world. "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you don't want the room I'd set aside for you and Jess for tonight."

"That would be preferable, although technically if you gave us the same room you'd planned on for Jess and me we'd never really have anyway of knowing, now would we."

"Unless I'd planned on personalizing the room, you know, a giant banner saying 'We happily welcome the future Mr. and Mrs. Jess Mariano.' You think Logan would be upset if he checked in a saw that?"

"You're evil. It makes me proud to call myself your daughter. Of course if you _actually _do that I will secretly cut the break lines on those promised Mustangs."

"You're no fun," Lorelai pouted. "Seriously, what good are you if you won't let me mock you? OK, fine. I'll go check the reservation book and see which rooms are available."

"Thanks Mom, for the room and for understanding." Rory felt much calmer after talking with Lorelai. She was so happy to have her mother's blessing; her opinion mattered more to Rory than anyone else's. She hoped everyone here could take the news so well but she knew that she would not be so lucky. Luke would be devastated, he was almost as excited about Rory and Jess's wedding as he had been about his own. She wasn't looking forward to breaking the news to him but she knew it had to be done. "Is Luke around?" she asked her mother.

"You know Sookie won't let him set a foot in her kitchen if she can help it. Do remember how paranoid she got when she was pregnant with Martha and got put on bed rest and Luke had to cover for her. Not pretty. He's at the diner making some pies for dessert. Why?"

"Well I should probably tell him."

"You don't think Jess will tell him?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh no, maybe Jess should tell him. But I can't lie to him and I can't just ignore him until Jess gets here. Unless Jess already got here and Luke already knows. Oh know, what if Luke already knows and he hates me?"

"Breath kid," Lorelai's voice broke through Rory's ranting. "Luke won't hate you, I promise. He'll be upset, I'm sure, but you're as much his family as Jess is and he loves you. He wants you to be happy as much as anyone. Now as for breaking the news to him, perhaps if Jess hasn't already done it you should tell him together. I know it might be awkward but you made it sound like the breakup wasn't _too _horrible and I'm sure Luke would appreciate hearing it from both of you. In the mean time why don't you go visit Sookie in the kitchen. If you're lucky maybe she'll let you taste test the candied yams. She knows how you love any food with the word 'candy' in it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Rory agreed, standing up. She leaned across the table and gave her mom and hug. "Thanks again." She walked out of the office ready to head for the kitchen but she spotted someone across the room and stopped short.

"Rory!" Liz's excited voice carried across the Inn as her former mother-in-law-to-be raced across the lobby to give her a hug.

Rory hugged back hesitantly, not sure what to say but Liz broke the awkward silence again. "I'm so sorry to hear about you and Jess," she told her.

Rory breathed a sigh of relief with the knowledge that she would not have to lie, or at least be evasive, though she was surprised by Liz's warm greeting if she had already heard the news. "So I see you've heard," she said solemnly.

"Jess is at our house right now, he got here just a little while ago."

"How's he doing?" Rory asked with genuine concern.

"He's putting on a brave face but I'm his mother and I can tell he's hurting. You'll be a hard one to get over," Liz answered honestly.

"I never wanted to hurt him. I care about him a lot- love him even, just not in the right way. It wouldn't have been fair to either one of us."

"I know, you're a good girl, Rory, you'd never hurt anyone intentionally. And don't think this makes you any less a part of the family. Your mother is a Dane's now too you know and you Gilmore girls are a package deal."

"Thanks Liz, it's really good to know you feel that way," Rory paused. "Do you know if he told Luke yet?"

"I don't think so, he came straight to the house."

"Good, I think this is something Luke needs to hear from the both of us. I'll see you at dinner." Rory gave Liz a quick hug before heading out of the Inn. The easy part was over, now she had to go see Jess again and talk to Luke, neither were conversations she was looking forward to.

-------------------------

**pssst, don't forget to leave a review, you know you want to ;)**


	29. Acceptance?

**AN: Yay, another chapter :) **

* * *

Rory stood hesitantly on the doorstep in front of a quaint, white, ranch style home. She knocked softly on the door. After a few moments it swung open to reveal Jess standing there carrying a sleeping baby in his arms. A small smile spread across Rory's face; Jess didn't see his brother often but when he did he was always so good with him. He'd make a great father someday. She was sure Logan would be great with kids too, heck he was great with Finn and that was almost the same thing. As long as Logan was there he would be a great father and she was finally convinced that Logan would do everything in his power to make sure he was there for his children when the time came. He would do everything in his power to be there for her as well. 

"What are you doing here?" Jess's voice broke her out of her reverie.

"We need to talk Jess," she told him.

"I thought we already had that discussion," he replied bitterly.

"Jess, I know this is awkward but we have to get used to it. We're never going to be completely out of each other's lives. We need to deal with this, starting with Luke."

"What about Luke?"

"We have to break the news to him. He should here it from us...both of us."

"I don't know Rory..." Jess began. It was bad enough knowing he was going to have to sit around the same table as her tonight, looking at what he had lost; he didn't know if he could spend even more time with her.

"Do you have a better idea? Maybe we could just tell Miss Patty and wait it out. I'm sure he'd appreciate that," the sarcastic tone of her voice was clearly evident.

"What do you expect Rory? You want to be friends? That's great, I can hang out with you and Logan, get all buddy buddy with the guy who stole my fiance away from me," he said, his voice growing louder, causing Tommy to wake up and start crying. "Great, look what you made me do," he accused, patting Tommy gently on the back to try and get him to stop crying. "If we're going to have this out at least let me bring him back to his dad."

Jess walked away leaving Rory standing in the doorway. She wasn't sure if she should follow so she just stood there. He was angrier than he had been at first. Last night he had yelled a bit but mostly he just seemed defeated. She didn't expect things between them to be easy but she had hoped he would be somewhat amiable. She could understand why but that didn't mean she liked it. Jess came back a minute later and stepped out of the house, closing the door behind him.

"Listen, Jess," she began again. "I don't expect us to be friends, it'd be nice, but I don't expect it. And I certainly don't expect you to be friends with Logan. But we've got family in common and the least we can do is try to cooperate for their sakes."

"It isn't that easy Rory. It hasn't even been 24 hours. I can accept that I'm not the one you love anymore, what other choice do I have? But that doesn't mean that I'm just going to be OK with it. It hurts standing here in front of you and knowing I can't just kiss you like I always do. It hurts knowing that you were with him all last night...knowing that you..." he choked on the next words. "It just hurts," he continued. "It's going to take time."

"I know, and after today I'll give you all the time you need but we have to get through these next few hours together. We have to start by talking to Luke. I'm not going to let him find out from someone else, he deserves better."

He looked at her for a moment before nodding his head at her in agreement. "Fine, for Luke's sake. Let's get this done." He stepped off the porch and Rory followed.

They walked for a few minutes in silence before Jess spoke up. "He's not here, is he?" He quickly glanced at Rory.

"What?"

Jess rolled his eyes in frustration. "Logan, did you bring him with you?"

"You really think I would do that to you?"

"I don't know, I didn't think you'd go around kissing other guys when you were engaged to me and I was wrong about that."

"That's not fair Jess," she stopped and turned to face him.

"Oh _I'm _not being fair."

"You make it sound like I was off sucking face with anyone who would have me in complete disregard to your feelings. You have no idea how hard this decision was for me, I never wanted to hurt you."

"Well maybe you should have thought of that before," he bit back.

"Would it have made a difference? Would anything I would have done made a difference short of staying with you?" Jess was silent. "And do you really want me to be with you when I'm in love with someone else? Would that be fair to either of us." More silence. "Alright than, let's go." She turned and continued walking towards Luke's. Jess remained motionless for a moment before running to catch up.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I'm just upset."

"I understand," she replied without looking back at him.

* * *

Luke was in the kitchen checking on his pumpkin pie when he heard the bell above the door to the dinner ring out. "We're closed," he yelled to the intruders before making his way out to see to it that whoever it was left. 

"Surely you can make an exception for us," Rory responded with a small smile.

"Well if it isn't my favorite couple," Luke beamed as he walked around the counter to give Jess a manly hug and then pulled Rory in for a slightly more emotional greeting. Rory involuntarily winced at his words but Luke didn't notice. "You just couldn't wait until dinner to see me?" he joked.

"Hey Luke!" Jess grunted.

"It's great to see you Luke," Rory added then paused before continuing one. "Actually, there's something we wanted to tell you. Could you maybe sit down for a minute." She motioned to one of the tables.

Luke looked at them curiously but then proceeded to the table, taking the chairs down for them to sit in. The gathered around in the seats and there was silence for a few moments before Luke finally spoke up. "Is something wrong?" he asked, taking in their tense postures and reluctance to speak.

Jess narrowed his eyes and looked at Rory, clearly expecting her to begin. He was there physically but it was becoming obvious he didn't have much to say. "Well," Rory began. "I guess that depends on your perspective."

There was another pause and suddenly Luke's eyes went wide with shock. "Are you," he directed at Rory, "I mean, you're not...You're not pregnant are you." He turned his gaze to Jess. "You couldn't wait till after the wedding? Jeez, Jess."

Jess's eyes glazed over with a hint of anger and Rory quickly intervened. "No, Luke," she assured him. "I'm not pregnant. I'm _definitely _not pregnant." She certainly hadn't been expecting Luke to jump to _that _conclusion. She'd have to be a bit more careful about how she went about this. She had been beginning to think that everyone in the word had seen this turn of events occuring a long time ago but apparently Luke was still clueless. Of course as far as she knew Luke had never really been told why Jess had temporarily moved out back around her birthday and he had no clue that Logan had reappeared in her life.

"Well then what is this all about?" He asked looking from Rory to Jess and back again.

Rory sucked in a large breath. "The engagement is off, Luke. We broke up."

Luke's eyes went wide before turning an angry stare Jess's way. "What did you do?" he accused.

"What did _I_ do?" he replied incredulously? "What the hell makes you think this is my fault."

"Passed precedence," Luke retorted.

"Hey I'm not the only one here who can screw up a relationship," he replied angrily.

"Hey, hey stop it. Both of you," Rory held her hands up to each of them. She looked Luke straight in the eye. "This isn't Jess's fault."

"Well then what the hell happened that you two can't work out?"

"There...there's someone else, Luke," she replied hesitantly.

"You _cheated _on her?" Luke asked with venom in his voice. He began to stand up from his seat and Rory quickly realized she had to stop him before he did something he would regret.

"Sit down, Luke," she said forcefully. "Didn't you hear what I just said? This isn't his fault. It's mine. _I'm _the one with the someone else."

Luke looked at Rory with shock. It couldn't be? When he looked at her he still saw the girl with the fairy wings who wanted throw a funeral for a caterpillar, he still saw the pock marked girl who would eat nothing but mashed potatoes. She was pure and innocent; far to good to do something like cheat on Jess. Sure there was the thing with Dean but Luke had always blamed that on him.

"You had an _affair_?" he asked incredulously. "How could you do that?" His voice was soft and Rory shuddered at the obvious disappointment. She hated disappointing people, especially people she really cared about like Luke. She didn't deserve it though, she had not been with Logan while she was still with Jess, she wouldn't do that to people she cared about.

"I didn't," she insisted.

"OK, now my head hurts. You didn't cheat and he didn't cheat and but there's someone else?" he expressed his conffusion.

Rory swallowed the lump in her throat before speaking up again. "It's Logan," she said, almost a whisper.

"Logan?"

"Yes, he bought my paper and seeing him everyday, I just realized that I still loved him. But I _didn't _cheat on Jess."

"Isn't he that punk that tried to undress you at your grandparent's vow renewal?"

"He did what" Jess asked, whipping his head around to stare at Rory.

"That was _my _idea, you know."

"He made you steal a yacht! You have a criminal record because of that guy."

"Ugh, how many times have I told you that he didn't make me steal that yacht, I made _him _steal the yacht?"

Jess spoke up again. "You stole a yacht? How come I never knew you stole a yacht? What would make you steal a yacht?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "This from the guy who created a fake murder scene in front of Doses, stole my copy of _Howl _and my bracelet from Dean and who broke into Stars Hollow video and rearranged the movies behind the Rory curtain?"

Jess just shrugged and Luke spoke up again. "I can't believe this Rory. How could you go back to that guy after everything he did? He turned your life upside down. His father tried to ruin you. He broke your heart."

"First of all," Rory said. She hated hearing Logan attacked but she tied to stay calm. "He didn't turn my life upside down, I was going through a lot but it wasn't his fault. He _wanted _me to go back to Yale, but he was also the only one who supported my decision even if he didn't agree with it. And I don't care about his father. Did you ever stop loving Mom just because grandma and grandpa didn't approve? Of course not. And lastly, he's not the only guy who's ever broken my heart." She tried not send a pointed look Jess's way. "He's truly sorry for the way he left the first time and he won't make the same mistakes twice."

"I can't listen to this," Jess mumbled angrily. He shoved his chair away from the table, stood up and stormed out of the diner.

"See what you did? How can you talk about someone else like that in front of him?" Luke raved. "You haven't hurt him enough."

"You didn't give me much of a choice, you were attacking Logan. I know that you're upset about this and that you were really excited about Jess and I getting married but I can't just keep pretending that my feelings for Logan are insignificant just because I'm afraid of hurting people. I'm in love with him Luke."

"You're making a mistake Rory. He'll break you're heart again. Are you really that naive?"

"He's not going to break my heart again. He's a really good guy Luke. I just hope someday you'll be willing to get to know him and you'll find that out." Rory stood up and walked out of the diner without waiting for a response.

* * *

A couple of hours later they all sat around the tables at the Drangonfly Inn surround by a complete Thanksgiving feast. Rory had mixed feelings about being there at that moment. Most people at the table had been very supportive of her decision though many of them were disappointed that she couldn't work things out with Jess. Her mother had been amazing about the whole thing and for that she was eternally grateful. She was still upset over the way things went down with Luke. She hadn't a spoken to him since she left the diner and she wasn't sure if he had calmed down at all. Lorelai had promised to try and talk some sense into him after dinner and she hoped that would help. Lorelai did have way of making Luke come around to her way of thinking even though he always tried to deny that he agreed with her. 

"I'm thankful that my super busy, successful, favorite daughter had time to squeeze her lonesome momma into her hectic schedule," Lorelai said as it was her turn to partake in the holiday tradition. Rory smiled at her brightly.

"I'm thankful for the good crop season this year and because my razquats are selling like hotcakes." Jackson's confession elicited a small laugh from the crowd. "What? I'm serious," he whined.

"When Luke's turn arose there was silence for a moment. "I'm thankful that despite all the curve balls life has thrown at us, we're all here today...together." Wow, a deep moment from Luke, was that good or bad? Rory didn't know, it didn't happen often enough.

The custom continued around the table until it was finally Rory's turn. She turned to look at her mother. "I'm thankful for the people who will always be there to support me and the decisions I make." She turned to glance quickly at Luke and she noticed him curve his lips up in a small smile and then he nodded his head at her. She smiled back. Apparently Deep Luke was a good sign after all.

* * *

**AN: I know wasn't too long but there isn't any Rogan interaction in it so I dind't feel too bad about it being short. Sorry, I wanted to write Rogan-y stuff as much as you wanted to read it but I had to tie up these loose ends first. I promise you there will be LOTS of fluffy Rogan goodness in the next chapter and if I'm feeling particularly generous, maybe even some smut ;) ;) **


	30. I'll Make Love to You

**AN: Another M rated chapter just to warn you. It was lots of fun to write but it takes me a long time to write the SMUT because I don't want to to sound like something out of a novel with Fabio on the cover. Anyhow, I think there's lots of good stuff in this chapter and I hope you like it. Please, pretty please leave a review :)**

* * *

"Now when are you going back to Philadelphia?" Emily asked her granddaughter as she walked her and Lorelai to the door. 

"Sunday, Grandma. I have to be back to work on Monday."

"So I won't get a chance to see you again before you go?" she asked disappointedly.

"I'm sorry, Grandma."

"When will you be back to visit again?"

"I'm not sure, probably not until Christmas time. I'm going to be very busy with work."

"I'm sure you could convince Logan to give you some time off," Emily suggested, smiling broadly at the mention of Logan's name. She no longer had to pretend to like that Jess boy. He was never any good for Rory, in her opinion.

"Yeah Rory, I'm sure you could _convince_ him," Lorelai chimed in with a wicked grin.

Rory shot her mother a dirty look before continuing the conversation with her grandmother. "You know I don't like asking for special favors. Christmas will be here in no time and then I'll be back for the Christmas party."

"Of course dear. Will Logan be accompanying you this year?" Emily asked giddily. "Your grandfather and I would so love to see him again."

Rory tried to refrain from rolling her eyes. Her grandmother had put on such a show of being disappointed about the wedding being called off until she was told that Rory had reconciled with Logan, then a truly happy Emily Gilmore had emerged and Rory honestly didn't know which was more annoying; the sincere Emily or the insincere Emily. "I'm not sure Grandma, he's very busy you know. I'll make sure he's made aware of the invitation though."

"Good, good. Do make sure to tell him hello for your grandfather and me. And Lorelai, you should bring Luke along next time as well. We haven't seen him in ages." Emily was not nearly as happy about this invitation but she was still sincere. She had finally learned to accept Luke's presence in Lorelai's life after seeing how broken her daughter had been when the wedding was called off.

"I'm sure he'd love that Mom," Lorelai replied and Emily completely missed her sarcastic tone.

At that moment Rory's phone began to ring. "Oh, I'm sorry, Grandma," she said, digging through her purse for the cell.

"Don't be silly. Dinner's over, it's no intrusion. Is it Logan?" she asked hopefully.

Rory looked at the caller ID and nodded as a big smile came over her face.

"Well then, I won't keep you any longer. I'm sure you're anxious to speak with him. Good bye dear," she said planting a kiss on both Rory and Lorelai's cheeks before practically pushing them out the door.

"Hi," Rory answered the phone as soon as the door was closed behind them. Lorelai practically gagged at the sickeningly sweet tone her daughter spoke in.

"Hey Ace," Logan replied and Rory could picture his warm brown eyes and sexy smirk at just the sound of his voice.

"Did you make it to Stars Hollow alright?" she asked him as she climbed into the passenger seat of her mother's jeep.

"Sure did. I'm at the Inn as we speak. I met the infamous Sookie who promptly loaded me up with a day after Thanksgiving feast bigger than any meal I've ever had on the actual day."

Rory laughed. "You know I had to talk her out of making a whole turkey today just for you. She insisted that the left overs would be all dried out."

"Well, I feel special."

"You shouldn't, she's a cook-a-holic, a perfectionist and a mother. Feeding people delicious food is second nature to her. She was more appalled than I was that you were having pizza and bourbon for your Thanksgiving dinner."

"Man, and here I thought there was something between us, I'm crushed. I guess I'll have to leave her and go back to you."

"I think that's a wise choice. Besides, I can spoil you in far better ways," she said suggestively.

"Ugh, please. Mom sitting right here. Can you please save the sex talk for the bedroom?" Lorelai groaned.

"Oh please, yesterday you were drilling me for details and now you're paling at the slightest innuendo?" Rory rolled her eyes at her mother.

"My tolerance for such nauseating conversations decreases dramatically after a trip to Bedlam."

"Is she implying that your grandparents are criminally insane?" Logan asked through the phone line.

"Yes; and lucky you, they've invited you to their annual Christmas party. Haven't you always wanted to spend your holidays with psychopaths?"

"Well I've done it before; every year Dad didn't spend Christmas away on business and Mom didn't check herself into a spa. So that would be...twice. Two Christmases spent with the criminally insane."

"Well then, you're a seasoned pro."

"How much longer till you get here?" he asked, changing the topic.

"We just left so probably just a little more than half an hour."

"Hmm, just enough time to sneak down for a clandestine rendezvous with Sookie," he joked.

"Are you having an affair with her famous apple pie?" Rory retorted.

"No, Jason Biggs already went there. I've actually been checking out the pecan."

"She does make one mean pecan pie. I hope you and your pastry of choice will be very happy together."

"Yes well, I should get going if we're going to finish up our quicky before you get back here."

"OK, well I'll see you soon then."

"I'll be waiting." They both hung up their phones with huge grins on their faces.

"What? No 'I love you more. No, I love you more.' argument?" Lorelai teased when her daughter finished her conversation.

"We've already had that discussion and we decided to agree to disagree," Rory replied.

"That's all you have to say for yourself? No defensive retort? I was mocking you."

"Well, of course you were mocking me; you're Lorelai Gilmore, queen of the mock. You could out-mock the Mystery Science Theater 3000 guys."

"Oh come on, the movies they choose are so easy. Anyone can mock _The Brain That Wouldn't Die_. They don't even make it hard on Joel and those stupid little robots. And what the hell was Steve Martin thinking when he agreed to do that stupid take off _The Man With Two Brains_?"

"You need to let it go Mom. The whole premise of the show was that they had to watch the _worst _movies ever made. It wouldn't make any sense if they had to mock movies that were only mildly bad."

"But it would have been much more entertaining. A challenge is always entertaining. They should tape our movie nights and then they'll see what a true mocking pro looks like."

"Sure, I'll call Comedy Central. I'm sure they'll get right on it." Rory placated her mother who responded with a pout as she pulled the car onto the highway, heading back home.

* * *

Logan heard someone struggling in the hallway outside the room and he knew it was Rory. He quickly proceeded to the door to let her in. Her arms were brimming with shopping bags which easily explained the difficulty she'd had in opening the door herself. "Jeez, Ace, who knew you could carry so much? Are you part pack mule or something?" he teased as he took the bags from her arms and brought them into the room. 

Rory was about to make a sarcastic remark but she stopped when she saw the room looked different than it had when she'd dropped her suitcases off earlier. She was speechless for a moment before finding her voice again. "You realize Rosalee is not going to be very happy with us," she retorted.

"Who's Rosalee?" Logan asked.

"She's the maid and she's not going to enjoy cleaning up all these rose petals," she told him; her voice was stern but she wore a big smile on her face and her blue eyes shone brightly.

"Oh, I'm sure she loves roses, it's in her name," he smirked. "But just in case maybe we should leave her a big tip for all her extra work."

Rory just put the rest of her bags down and went up to Logan to give him a loving kiss. "Thank you, the room looks beautiful. Though we should be careful with these candles; Mom doesn't have the best track record with fire in the Inn."

"That doesn't sound good, maybe we should just blow these out," he suggested as he began snuffing out the flames that surrounded them.

"Did you get all this stuff here?" she asked him, sitting down on a love seat in the corner of the room.

"Mmhmm," he nodded as he joined her on the sofa, pulling her down to lie on his chest.

"So you braved the town without me? How very noble," she commended him and turned her head to press a soft kiss to his lips.

"Yes, and it was quite the experience, let me tell you," he said as he softly stroked her hair.

"Oooh yes, tell me about it."

"Well Kirk is pretty much as crazy as you made him sound. I bought the flowers from him, Lulu prefers orchids to roses, in case your wondering..."

"For the next time I plan on surprising her with flowers? I'll keep that in mind."

Anyhow, after that I went to get the candles and he somehow wound up in there even though it wasn't five minutes later, to sell me those as well. Then on the way back I run into this older guy that I can only assume was Taylor and he started raving on and on about something about creating a rift and pink and blue ribbons and comparing you and Jess to your Mom and Luke and I think I was your Dad in this whole little metaphor but to be honest I was pretty confused."

Rory shook her head in amusement. "Will Taylor never learn? Those ribbons didn't work the first time, and besides, in order for there to be a rift people in this town would actually have to like Jess and most only put up with him for my sake. He was a bit of a trouble maker in his day."

"I see. So anyhow, just when I thought I was in the clear, I run into Miss Patty," he continued on.

"Oh no, you poor baby. How's your tush?" she asked him.

"Well to be honest, I feel a bit violated but I think I'll survive," he answered with a grin.

"Would you like me to kiss it and make it better?" she replied with a smirk.

He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "You know, for once a good ass kissing sounds quite pleasurable."

"Play your cards right..." she smirked. "So did Miss Patty have anything else to say after she finished admiring your butt?"

"Well apparently I remind her of her fifth husband who was apparently a very good man and quite handsome to boot."

"But not as handsome as her third husband if I remember correctly," she teased.

"Yes well, nobody's perfect. So what did you do today?" he asked her. "I'm assuming it involves shopping considering all those bags. Although I must say I'm a little insulted. I vaguely remember someone telling me that she couldn't stay in bed with me because she needed clothes and I didn't pay her enough to buy a whole new wardrobe."

Rory scoffed. "Please, you call that a whole new wardrobe? That's nothing. Besides, it's black Friday, a sacred shopping day. Mom woke me up at 5AM to make it to the stores on time for all the sales. I think it's the only day of the year she gets up before the sun."

"Well did you at least get something I might like?" he asked, his voice low and husky.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," she replied with a wicked smile.

"Oh come on, you know you want to model some sexy lingerie that you bought for half off. And when you're done I can take it _all _off," he whispered in her ear.

"I don't know, I mean, you haven't even finished wooing me yet. I don't hear any music, I haven't had any wine..."

"Is that so?" She nodded. "We better do something about that then." He sat up and pulled her off the love seat, leading her to a cart across the room. The cart was covered with a white linen table cloth and on it was a bucket of ice with champagne in it and a silver platter. He uncovered the silver platter and offered Rory the contents. "Strawberry for the lady?"

"They're covered in chocolate," she squealed. "I love chocolate covered strawberries."

"Well I know well enough not to offer fruit to a Gilmore unless it's smothered with chocolate."

"You're so smart," she said, patting him on the head and popping a strawberry into her mouth.

"And I do believe m'lady requested some music." He picked up a remote control and pressed a button, causing the stereo to turn on.

As soon as the song started playing Rory practically spit the remaining strawberry out of her mouth, trying to hold back the laughter. "Is this what I think it is?" she asked.

"Well I wanted to make sure my intentions were clear. I wouldn't want anyone to accuse me of taking advantage of you," he smirked.

"_I'll Make Love to You?" _

"You have something against Boyz II Men," he asked, pretending to be offended.

"Besides the cheese factor? Not at all."

"Good." At that moment the instrumental opening ended and the first verse began.

_Close your eyes, make a wish _

_And blow out the candlelight _

_For tonight is just your night _

_We're gonna celebrate, all thru the night _

_Pour the wine, light the fire _

_Girl your wish is my command _

_I submit to your demands _

_I'll do anything, girl you need only ask _

As the song played her poured two glasses of champagne then, using the same remote he had for the stereo, he pressed another button and the electric fireplace in the room roared to life.

"Please tell me you didn't choreograph that? If you did you have far to much free time on your hands."

"Well then why don't you help me find something more productive to do?" he suggested.

_I'll make love to you _

_Like you want me to _

_And I'll hold you tight _

_Baby all through the night _

_I'll make love to you _

_When you want me to _

_And I will not let go _

_Till you tell me to _

"Mmm, chocolatey strawberries now, sex later," she said matter-of-factly. "Oooh, there's whipped cream." she spied the container hidden behind the ice bucket and picked it up preparing to spray some on her strawberry but stopped short and looked at Logan.

"This wasn't meant for the strawberries was it?" she asked.

"I don't know what you mean," he said with big innocent eyes.

"If they were plain strawberries yes, but you don't need whipped cream for chocolate covered strawberries."

_Girl relax, let's go slow _

_I ain't got nowhere to go _

_I'm just gonna concentrate on you _

_Girl are you ready, it's gonna be a long night _

_Throw your clothes on the floor _

_I'm gonna take my clothes off too _

_I made plans to be with you _

_Girl whatever you ask me you know I'll do _

"What was that?" Logan pointed to the stereo speaker. "'Throw your clothes on the floor?' You heard the men...or are the boyz? I'm still a little unclear on that," he said, trying to distract Rory from the real purpose behind the whipped cream.

"Oh and if Boyz II Men says it, then clearly we must obey," she replied sarcastically.

"Hey, you said it not me."

She shook her head at him and suddenly, without warning, she took the can of whipped cream and sprayed a dollop on his nose. "Oops," she remarked innocently before leaning down to lick it off.

"Hey!" he grabbed the can from her clutches and sprayed some down her top.

She looked at him, mouth open in shock. "My dress," she cried out.

"Well if you had just listened to what the song was telling you the dress would be on the floor by now and we wouldn't have a problem."

_I'll make love to you _

_Like you want me to _

_And I'll hold you tight _

_Baby all through the night _

_I'll make love to you _

_When you want me to _

_And I will not let go _

_Till you tell me to _

"I hate you Huntzberger."

"You love me and you know it. Now are we going to salvage that dress or what?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

"Ugh, you're going to pay for this," she said, warningly but there was a big smile on her face. She reached for the zipper of her dress.

"I'm sure I will," he winked, moving closer to help her with the zipper and once it was undone she slipped out of the dress. "We've gotten the dress off, now it's time to do something about that whipped cream," he said, staring at the confection smeared all over her chest. He leaned down and started lapping up the topping.

She moaned at the warmth of his tongue on her skin.

_Baby tonight is your night _

_And I will do you right _

_Just make a wish on your night _

_Anything that you ask _

_I will give you the love of your life_

"And the whipped cream fulfilled it's true purpose after all," he said, smiling into her skin once he'd finished licking it off of her. He reached around for the clasp of her bra to remove it.

"Hey, wait a minute," she exclaimed.

"What?"

"How come I'm a couple of strips of lace away from being naked and you're still fully dressed? That doesn't seem quite fair.

"Well I wouldn't want to deny you the pleasure of seeing me in the buff," he laughed as he removed his own sweater and she worked on removing his pants. Once he was down to only his boxers he went back to his previous act of removing her bra. He undid the clasp and slowly slipped it off her shoulders placing kisses along her shoulders as he slid the straps down. Once the bra was completely off of her he leaned his head down, blowing warm breath on each of her nipples before kissing them tenderly.

She moaned and her head lulled back in pleasure. She ran her fingers up and down his back using feather light touches. He placed one of his hands flat on her stomach and ran it down until he reached her groin. He continued to place kisses all over her neck, her shoulders, her chest, in random order so that she would never know where his lips would land next, as he rubbed her center through the thin piece of cloth that was her thong.

She felt her knees going week and she stumbled backwards a few steps looking for the wall to support her. His fingers moved to the side slightly and slipped under the hem of her panties. He dipped a finger inside her, moving up and down in long even strokes before adding a second finger to the mix. He lifted his head up to kiss her fully on the mouth. Her lips eventually traveled away from his, making their way over his jawline, down his neck, over his collar bone, along his shoulder. Her kisses became more fervent as she came closer and closer to climax. She suddenly gasped and bit down on his shoulder as her entire body quaked with pleasure. Once her orgasm had subsided he withdrew his fingers from inside her.

She lifted her head to look up at him. "God that was good," she smiled at him.

"It's not over yet Ace," he promised her. He kissed her and they made their way back towards the bed, entwined together. They reached the bed and collapsed onto the mattress. She inched her way to the head of the bed to get comfortable and he quickly removed her underwear before crawling up to meet her. He tugged off his boxers and reached over to the nightstand where he had stashed the condoms. She grabbed the condom from his hands and ripped it open, rolling it on him. She stoked his shaft a few extra times for good measure. He leaned down, resting his weight on his elbows. Drawing her knees up, she shifted her hips slightly and guided him into her.

They moaned each other's names as he entered. He began moving inside her, slow at first but steadily picking up the pace. Her hips lifted to meet him, straight up and down at first and then in a circular motion. She ran her hands up and down his back and arms, digging her finger nails into him. Her legs alternately bent and straightened out so that her kness rubbed against his hips and butt. They groaned and moaned, single solitary words occasionally escaping their lips. "Logan", "Ace", "Harder", "Need", "God". Eventually they both found their release and he collapsed, resting his weight on her for a moment before rolling off of her and discarding the condom in the waste basket next to the bed.

They lay next to each other; hearts racing, breathing strained. When she found the strength to move she snuggled into the side of him, resting her head on his shoulder and turning on her side, throwing a leg over his. She began idly tracing patterns on his chest as they remained in comfortable silence.

As Logan lay on the bed, holding onto the woman he loved he couldn't help his thoughts from wandering to a conversation he'd had earlier that day. He didn't want to bring this up now but he needed to know. He didn't ever want to lose her again which meant he couldn't keep this a secret like London. He sighed, resigning himself to conversation he was about to start. "Ace?"

"Hmm?" she responded tilting her head up to look at him.

"I spoke to my Dad today."

"Logan, on the list of things I don't want to talk about when we're naked, you're Dad is at the very top," she informed him.

He chuckled at her remark but then turned serious. "I know Ace, but I have to tell you something."

"Oh no," she said, getting suddenly worried.

"He says..." he took a deep breath. "He says I can't stay in Philly for good, he can't use me there once things are settled with The Liberty."

She bolted upright into a sitting position and stared at him wide eyed. "No, Logan you promised. You said you were going to talk to him, that you wouldn't let him move you around anymore."

"I know," Logan said, sitting up and looking her straight in the eye. "It's going to be OK though. I promise, we're going to be OK."

"How? How can you say that when you're going to leave?"

"Ace, I tried to talk to him, I tried to reason with him but there was just no way. I can't stay there. I made it clear to him though, if he can't use me in Philly then he better find someplace he can use me, and it better be permanent."

She sniffled, trying to hold back tears. "Where are you going?"

"I'm staying at the Liberty for four more months, then I'm moving...to New York."

"New York?" she asked with a small smile. "We can do New York. If Jess and I could make Philadelphia-New Haven work we can certainly make Philadelphia-New York work."

"No, you don't get it. I don't want a long distance relationship...I want you to come with me."

"To New York?"

"Why not? It's closer to your family than Philly and there's a billion newspapers you could work for. Heck, I own half of them, you'll have no problem getting a job. I know we just got back together but we both know this is for good. God, I'd put a ring on your finger today if I thought it was appropriate. And I'm not going for four more month so we have time to work everything out."

"But where will I live? It's so hard to find an apartment in New York."

"C'mon Ace," he admonished. "You can't be serious."

She laughed. "God, you're so gullible Huntzberger."

He smiled and shook his head. "So is that a yes?"

She nodded, "It's a yes."

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**Do it. Do it. ;) (in case I wasn't clear, this is my not so subtle reminder to leave a review)**


	31. Never a Dull Moment

**AN: What's that you say? It's about friggin time I updated this story? I concur. Stupid school. I won't bore you with all the details of the life of a vet student but just a little tid bit for you curious ones, just a tiny part of my life this week involved getting knocked on my ass by an ass named Knoxville and it in no way is related to an MTV show or a movie or a guy named Steve-O. Anyhow, back on track. I think there's only going to be two more chapters of this story, one more back in Philly and then an epilogue. Sad, I know. But there will eventually be a sequel I suspect and in the mean time I'll engage in some shameless self promotion and suggest you read the other two stories I'm working on. This coming week is going to be another crazy one in my life so the last chapters will probably be up next weekend if all goes well. Hope you like this chapter. Please leave a review. I LOVE your reviews :)**

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"How can it possibly take you this long to get dressed?" Logan asked frustratedly as he sat on the edge of the bed with the newspaper waiting for Rory to finish getting ready.

"You want me to look pretty don't you?" she pouted as she walked out of the bathroom and moved over the the suitcase she had dedicated entirely to shoes, to put the finishing touches on her outfit.

"Yes, but I personally find you most appealing when you're wearing nothing at all, so the clothes you put on aren't going to make you look any prettier."

Rory finished zipping up her calf-high, black, leather boots and stood up to look at her boyfriend, an expressionless look upon her face. "It's a good thing you're good in bed because it's comments like that which would have you sleeping alone otherwise."

"What'd I say?" Logan asked, completely clueless to his offense.

"You pretty much told me that my outfits make me look ugly," she told him angrily.

He looked at her in shock, wondering how the hell she'd come to such a conclusion. "I did _not_. All I said was that nothing can compare to your natural beauty," he corrected, trying desperately to fix his blunder.

The scowl on her face slowly broke and turned into a grin, as she was unable to maintain her serious facade any longer. "You should have seen the look on your face. You really thought I was mad at you. It was priceless," she said laughing as she walked up and stood in front of him. She leaned down to give him a quick kiss and then pulled back to rest her forehead against his.

"That was not nice," he pouted, falling back on the bed. "Monopoly I'm pro at, buying hotels is hardly different than buying newspapers, but I never win at mind games."

"Well later on we can play a different game and I'll let you win," she smirked, "Now get up."

"No," he said, grabbing a hold of her wrist. "I think you should join me down here instead," he pulled her down on top of him and she let out a tiny yelp. He lifted his head up to meet hers but she pulled away and stood back up again.

"No more smootches for you until you move your ass. We're going to be late meeting my Mom for brunch."

"Fine," he relented, getting off the bed. "I'm up, now I want my kiss." He leaned in and placed a peck on her lips.

"That's the best you can do?" she asked with a shake of her head.

"Anything more and we won't make it to brunch at all and I don't think that standing your mother up is the best way to get on her good side."

"No, she does like to be the center of attention and not showing up might make her a little testy. Let's go," she said grabbing onto his hand and leading him out of the room.

They walked downstairs and as she began to head for the front door of the Inn he stopped short. "Where are we going?" he asked her.

"To meet my Mom for brunch," she spoke to him as she would a small child.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes I get that, but I thought we were eating here."

"No," she replied as she turned back to the door and preceded to the exit. "We're going to Luke's."

"Are you insane?" he cried out.

She stopped again and turned to him. "Luke's has the best coffee, where else would we go?"

"Are you trying to get me killed?" he asked her with raised eyebrows. "Because you don't get to collect the inheritance unless you marry me first."

"Oh stop being so dramatic. Luke won't hurt you. He's a big teddy bear."

"He didn't seem very teddy bear like the last time we met, at Richard and Emily's vow renewal, and I don't expect a much better reaction after breaking up his nephew's engagement."

Rory sighed. "I'm not going to lie, he wasn't happy. But I spoke to him, and Mom spoke to him and he calmed down a bit and promised not to tear your arms out of their sockets."

"Good, because I'm rather fond of my arms, and the rest of my appendages as well."

"I'm fond of your appendages too," she returned with a smirk. "And I would not lead them to any harm."

"That's good to know, Ace," he replied with a laugh.

"Good, now that's settled, let's get going." She grabbed his hand and pulled him behind her as she made her way out of the Inn.

They made their way the short distance to town, Rory still dragging Logan with her. She seemed to go faster as she got closer and closer to Luke's, as though she had some super human ability to smell his coffee a mile away and the scent of it lured her in like the song of a siren. Logan tried to hold her back. He wasn't ashamed to admit he was scared of Luke. If Logan recalled properly, the man was very large and very protective. "Ace, slow down," he pleaded with her, trying to prolong the inevitable meeting.

"You slow down, you die, Logan," she said, continuing to hurry across the town square but still managing to throw him a smug look over her shoulder.

"Oh you think you're cute do you?" he asked, stopping and placing his hands on his hips, sending a faux withering stare at her back.

She finally stopped and turned around. "As a matter of fact, I do," she replied with a smirk, and mimicked his pose, placing her hands on her hips. "I think I'm cute enough to have you wrapped around my little finger." She held her right hand up and wiggled her pinkie at him.

"Well it is an awfully cute little finger, but is that cute digit _really _going to make me go in there with the scary man?" Logan nodded his head towards the diner.

Rory glanced at the diner then back at Logan, appearing to ponder the situation. She was silent for a moment before answering. "Yes." She walked up to him and grabbed each of his hands in hers and began walking backwards towards Luke's, trying to drag him like the stubborn mule he was being. He refused to move, mostly because he was highly amused by her actions and not because he didn't want to go. He was wary of Luke yes, but he knew better than to think he could get out of it. She continued to pull at him with all her strength but he didn't budge. Her hands slipped from his and she fell backwards onto the grass, landing on her ass. Logan was worried for a moment but she quickly broke out in hysterical laughter, falling the rest of the way back to lie on the grass. He smiled and laughed with her.

"Have a nice trip?"

"Oh shoosh you," she scolded, her laughter dying down. She sat back up and Logan reached a hand out to her to help her stand. She grabbed a hold and he yanked her up with such force that she once again lost her balance, this time falling forward, right into his open arms. "Much better landing this time," she smiled up at him.

"I whole heartedly concur," he mumbled, bringing his lips down to meet hers. She ran her hands up his chest, bringing them over his shoulders and to the nape of his neck, pressing his head down to deepen the kiss. His hands fell to her hips and, forgetting their current location they migrated a little lower to rest on her ass.

"Yes, definitely a much better landing," she said once she'd pulled back.

"We should get to brunch before we give your town a show to remember us by," Logan said with a smirk.

"Ooh yes, brunch. I love brunch, it's my favorite meal of the day because it's two, two, two meals in one," she replied excitedly. She turned away from Logan and towards the dinner. As she was turning she could sense Logan stiffen slightly and she was about to ask what was wrong when she spotted him. He was standing just outside of Luke's not more than 100 yards away. He was frozen, his eyes glued to her and Logan.

"He...he was supposed to be gone," she stuttered.

"You OK, Ace?" She could feel Logan's hand resting reassuringly on her shoulder but mostly she was concentrating on Jess. He was not supposed to see that, he was supposed to be gone.

Jess finally began to move, stalking across the square, trying to circumvent his way around the couple. His attempt to ignore them was made infinitely more difficult as Rory bolted towards him, calling out his name. "Jess! Jess wait, stop!" Rory finally caught up to him and reached out to grab his arm. "Jess, please, let me explain."

"There's nothing to explain Rory," he spun around to face her. "You broke up with me, remember? Your free to do whatever or _who_ever you choose," he spat at her, nodding his head towards Logan.

"You right, I am. But that doesn't mean I wanted you to see it. I swear, I'm not trying to flaunt it in front of you."

"Funny, that was pretty much what you said the other day when I asked you if you were bringing him here, and yet, here he is. Oh and making out in the dead fucking center of town? That was a nice touch."

"Actually you didn't ask if he was coming you asked if he was _here _and at the time he wasn't. But you were supposed to be back in Philly by now and just because I don't want to rub my new relationship in your face doesn't mean I'm going to hide it either. He has every right to be here, I was just trying to do you a favor by waiting. How the hell was I supposed to know you were going to stay longer than planned?"

"_Soooorry_," he said with exaggerated sarcasm. "Next time I want to spend a little extra time with my family I'll be sure to send you a memo so that you can plan your groping sessions more accordingly. Of course I'm on my way out of town now so feel free to take your boy toy and go have sex in the gazebo because as long as _I'm _not around to see it, it's all OK."

"Funny, you didn't seem to have a problem with public displays of affection when it was you and me right after I broke up with Dean. But of course now that you're not getting your way you turn right back into a sullen little boy. Now I'm sorry you had to see that but if you're going to insist on acting like a three year old than I'm not even going to waste my time trying to placate you."

"Fine, are we done here?"

"I've got nothing left to say to you."

"Good, then the feeling's mutual. Have a nice life Rory," he responded angrily before turning and storming off.

Rory stood there, silently fuming for a moment before she felt Logan's hand gently squeeze her shoulder. "You OK?" he asked her.

"He's acting like such an asshole, I swear it's like he's that emotionally screwed up 18 year old kid all over again. I don't expect him to be happy for us or anything but can't he at least act civilly?" She leaned back a little into Logan, wanting to feel his support, wanting to be reminded that the sacrifice she made with Jess was more than worth it because now she was with the man she was truly meant to be with.

"He's angry, I can hardly say I blame him," Logan responded.

Rory turned around to look at him quizzically. "Are _you _seriously defending _him_? Because if you are I'm going to start suspecting that we've been sucked into an alternate universe."

"Well, Stars Hollow is sort of like a whole other world," he replied with a grin. "But seriously, all I'm saying is that I know what it's like not to have you, to see you with someone else. I gotta say, I wasn't fond of that experience and it's gotta be pretty sucky for him too."

"So you feel sorry for him?" she asked disbelievingly.

"Heck no, better him than me," he replied jokingly, though that sentiment was actually pretty accurate.

She circled her arms around his waist and hugged herself tight to him, looking up into his eyes. "I love you, Logan." He smiled back down at her silently. "What?" she asked in response to his expression.

"I do believe that's the first time you said that first since we've been back together...I gotta say I like it."

"Well technically, I didn't say it first because in order for me to have said it first you would have to say it back, which by the way, you didn't," she retorted.

"Is that so?"

"Uh huh."

"I love you, Ace."

"That's more like it," she grinned, standing up on her tippy toes to place her lips softly against his. "So we're good?" she asked him.

He looked down at her curiously. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"You know, my going after him just now. It didn't mean anything; you know that, right"

"I can't exactly say I liked watching you chase after your ex to explain away one of our kisses, but I understand. No worries," he assured her.

"It would just be so much easier if it were anyone else, but Jess is never going to be completely gone. He's so much closer to his family than he used to be, probably because I kept dragging him back here to visit. It's just, there are always going to be more Thanksgivings or some other family event that brings us back here and I don't want things to be awful."

She was right, Jess would always keep coming back into her life. He wasn't particularly happy about that but he would have to get used to it; she'd chosen him in the end and that was what mattered. They were together now, no reason to keep being jealous of Jess. "He'll calm down, I wouldn't worry about it. Now, how about that brunch. I think it's fair to say we've kept your mother waiting long enough."

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that, she saw everything through the window of the diner." Rory pointed towards Luke's and waved at Lorelai through the glass. She probably made up her own dialog to go along."

"Crazy runs in your family, doesn't it?"

"It's highly suspected, they've taken some DNA samples and are analyzing them, trying to isolate the gene," she answered as they finally resumed their walk towards the diner. "You're OK going in there?" she asked, just outside the door.

"Now's as good a time as any, your Mom and Luke are going to have to get used to me eventually, I'm not going anywhere this time."

"Good, and Mom won't give you any problems. I told you, she's been really great about this whole thing. Luke promised to be nice too, which really only means that he won't threaten you with bodily harm, but that's just Luke for you. He'll warm up to you eventually."

"I guess I'll just have to work my infamous Huntzberger charm." Logan flashed his award winning smile.

"I don't think you can flirt your way into Luke's good graces," Rory joked.

"Hey, just because you were easy enough to win over with just my wiles doesn't mean that I don't have other methods. I am an equal opportunity charmer."

"If you say so," she looked at him warily as they entered the diner.

"Ah, if it isn't the fruit of my loins and her Limo Boy. How nice of you to to stop making scenes in the middle of town and come join Mommy," she smirked.

"Lorelai," Logan said politely, reaching out to shake her hand. "Nice to see you again."

"Limo Boy," she greeted, taking his hand in hers. "Hurt my baby again and I'll hire a crooked vet to castrate you in your sleep," she remarked, but she was smiling.

"A vet?" he asked curiously.

"Of course, they do have the most experience with that particular procedure and I wouldn't want to be totally cruel," Lorelai answered.

"Yes well, I don't make the same mistakes twice so you can hold off on setting up an appointment for a neuter."

"Good, then you may sit," she motioned to the seats across from her. "Luke, coffee," she called to her husband behind the counter.

Luke grunted but approached the table with the coffee pot. "Would it hurt you to occasionally treat me like a person instead of like Geraldo?" he asked his wife.

"As in Geraldo Rivera?" Logan whispered in Rory's ear, utterly confused by their conversation.

"No, as in Geraldo our coffee maker."

"Right, so that's where you got your weird tendency to name inanimate objects."

"It's where I get all my weird tendencies...except my strange love affair with the written word. I'm fairly certain Mom has never sniffed a book," she smiled at him and he laughed, remembering the image of her in the library with a Pushkin novel pressed to her nose.

Luke poured coffee in their mugs and Logan turned his attention to him. "Hi Luke, nice to meet you," he greeted.

"We've met," Luke responded gruffly.

Logan smiled sheepishly. "I remember, although I was kind of hoping you'd forgotten."

"Well, I didn't," Luke gave him a stony look before leaving the table.

"Wow, he barely said two words but he was just as scary as I remember."

"Aww, poor baby. You did good. Now drink your coffee, it'll calm you down," Rory placated, patting him soothingly on the back.

Logan took a sip of his coffee and set it back on the table. "Why is that Taylor guy staring at us through the window?" Logan nodded towards the soda shoppe.

"Oh, he probably just wanted to see how Luke reacted to you, make sure he didn't need to break out those ribbons," Rory explained.

"Wait, what about the ribbons? " Lorelai asked.

"Oh, Taylor cornered Logan last night and gave him the third degree, mentioned the ribbons and everything. I'm not sure if he's more concerned about the break up with me and Jess or if he thinks that it'll start a fight between you and Luke."

"I swear, you'd think now that we're married he'd have gotten rid of those damn things. We're not breaking up again. One day I'm going to break into his house and steal the ribbons and burn them into oblivion" Lorelai grumbled.

At that moment Babbette came walking into the diner. "There you are, sugahs," she greeted Rory and Lorelai. "And this handsome fella must be Logan, I'm Babbette," she greeted him with a flirtatious smile.

"Hello Babbette, it's a pleasure," he greeted, reaching a hand out to hers.

"_Very _nice," she said to Rory as she shook Logan's hand. "You sure do know how to pick the hunky ones."

"You hear that, Ace? I'm hunky," he grinned mischievously.

"Now see what you've done Babbette? His ego's already so big it hogs all the covers."

"I do not hog the covers," he said defensively.

"Yes you do. You're a cover hog and you know it."

"Well...I have cold feet," he tried to defend himself.

"Aww, you two are adorable," Babbette told them. "Although I did hear something about making a scene in the square a little while ago."

Rory rolled her eyes, "We did not make a scene."

Lorelai gave her a pointed look. "You sooo made a scene." She turned to Babette. "These two decided to engage in some heavy petting outside and Jess caught them, he wasn't a happy camper, I can tell you that."

"Who would be after letting a gem like you get away?" Babbette replied.

"See told ya," Logan whispered in Rory's ear. The feel of his breath on her skin tickled and she responded with a giggle.

"Ahh to be young and in love," Babbette said dreamily. "Morey and I used to be like that." Rory cringed internally at the image that had just been put in her head. "Well, I should get going. It was good seeing you. Logan, it was a pleasure," she told him with a wink.

"Bye, it was lovely meeting you," he replied smoothly. Once Babbette was gone Logan turned to Rory and Lorelai. "There's never a dull moment in this town is there?"

"Nope," Lorelai confirmed. "And there's never a dull moment in the life of a Gilmore girl. You sure your ready for that commitment?"

He glanced and Rory with a smile. "I wouldn't want to miss a minute of it."


	32. Back to Life, Back to Reality

"OK, so how are we going to do this?" Rory asked as Frank pulled the limo to a stop in front of the Liberty Herald.

"Do what?"

"Well, we can't just walk in together or everyone will know."

"And…we don't want everyone to know?" Logan asked hesitantly. They hadn't actually discussed how they were going to handle things at the office.

"Not them, Logan. They hated me enough when there wasn't anything going on; if they find out we're together now they'll think we've been lying to them. And then there will be all the questions. They'll think…" she trailed off. She knew what they were already thinking, that she was cheater and a gold digger and all other kinds of horrible things. "I just think we should keep this out of the office for now," she finished.

Logan thought back to the encounter with that woman the day his father visited, and the note incident afterwards. It had hurt _him_ to hear people talk about Rory the way they were so he could only imagine how difficult it was for her.

"Ace," he said, placing one hand reassuringly on her knee and using the other to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Despite all the gossip, he wasn't convinced that hiding their relationship would make office life easier but if it was what Rory wanted, it was what they would do. "No one hates you. There may be a few jealous women but they don't know what they're talking about. They don't know anything about either one of us. But if you don't want them to know, then they don't have to." Then he smirked and added, "Besides, a secret office affair could be _very_ hot."

She smiled back at him and leaned in for what she meant to be a chaste kiss but Logan immediately deepened it. "Logan, we have to go," she whined.

"But if I'm not going to get to kiss you all day then I've got to get my fill now," he told her before capturing her lips in another embrace.

"We're going to be late," she tried again.

"I can't be late, I'm the boss," he dismissed her argument with yet another lip lock.

"Well then I'll be late."

"As your boss I hereby give you permission to be late," he smirked.

"Logan."

"Ace," he replied, mimicking her tone, then after a pause he finally relented. "Fine, I suppose we _should_ get going. You want to go in first and I'll just go get some coffee or something and come back in a few minutes," he suggested.

"Mmm, coffee," she moaned.

Logan laughed. "Well I would say I'd go first and you could go get coffee but you were awfully concerned with being late."

"Ugh, damn you and your logic," she said, giving him a playful shove. "I guess I'll just have to drink office coffee. It's a good thing you bought me that big expensive basket of gourmet coffees; that other stuff we have tastes like lighter fluid, and not in the good- 'this stuff is really strong' kind of way."

"Yes, I'm very thoughtful like that. Now shoo, get to work before I have to fire you for being tardy." She glared at him for a moment before the corners of her lips turned up into a smile; she placed one last peck on his lips and she slipped out of the car.

* * *

"So, where's Lover Boy?" Sue cornered Rory as soon as she walked into the office.

"Shh!" Rory admonished as she made her way across the newsroom to her desk with Sue close on her heels. "Not so loud."

"Fine, I'll keep it down, but I'm not going to just drop it. You've been avoiding my calls all weekend," Sue replied, leaning up against Rory's desk as the brunette took a seat.

"Well, I've been busy," Rory said evasively as she turned on her computer and began rummaging around her desk, avoiding Sue's eye. She knew she would tell her friend everything eventually but the office was definitely not the place. It was one thing to talk about _not_ being with Logan while they were there but the details of her weekend were not going to be discussed in that building; and then of course there was the news of the move. She knew Sue would not be happy about that.

"I'll bet you've been busy," Sue retorted, raising her eyebrows knowingly.

"Sue! I didn't mean it like _that_." Rory replied with a blush, even though in all honesty she had been busy like that.

The red head rolled her eyes, not even pretending to believe Rory. "Yes you did. Tell me something…"

"What?"

"Can you count the number of times you've had sex this weekend while wearing closed toed shoes?"

Rory blushed and averted her eyes. "I really don't think that is any of your business."

"I'll take that as a 'no.' It's official, you've had more sex in the last four days then I've had in the last four weeks."

Rory spotted an out and took it without hesitation. "You and Tim having a little trouble in the bed room?" she teased.

"Uh, uh uh. Don't be changing the topic here. We're talking about you right now," Sue said, refusing to fall into Rory's trap.

"We were just…getting to know each other again," Rory said euphemistically. "It's not like it's going to be that way all the time."

"Shame. A non-stop sex fest sounds like fun," Sue grinned.

Rory laughed. "You're unbelievable; no shame at all."

"Nope, I'm shameless, you cannot shame me.

"Oh, before I forget," Rory said suddenly, "Colin and Finn are making us take them out tonight. They're very needy and since we abandoned them all weekend we have to make it up to them by spending the rest of the week entertaining them. Anyhow, I thought you might like to join us."

"Oh, I've already been invited."

"You have?" Rory asked curiously. "By who?"

"Let's just say that I should have listened to you when you told me not to give a certain someone my phone number."

Rory laughed hardily. "Oh no! How many times has he called you?"

"Last night?"

Rory nodded. "For starters."

"Only four."

"I know I should be a bigger person than this but…I told you so. Don't worry though, he's leaving on Sunday and hopefully the calls will taper off and he'll find someone new to harass."

"Does he call _you_ this much too or am I just special."

"Well I don't have red hair so I'm saved from the brunt of it. And he forgot about me for a while after the break up but now that Logan and are back together I'm sure the incessant bugging will resume, and it will probably get even worse after we move to…" Rory trailed off realizing what she had let slip.

"Move to where?" Sue asked, eyes bulging out of her head. "You're moving? Please tell me you mean you're moving from Chestnut Street to Market Street."

Rory sighed. "We're moving to New York."

"You're WHAT?" Sue practically screamed

"Not so loud," Rory hissed.

"I'm sorry but New York? As in not only out of the city but out of the _state_? And jeez, you know I'm all for you and Logan being together but isn't a little soon to be relocating for him?"

"Sue, you know as well as I do that this thing with Logan and me is the real deal. I wouldn't have left Jess for anything less," Rory said, trying to reason with her friend.

"I know," Sue pouted. "It's just…I'm gonna miss you."

"I'll miss you too but we're still going to talk all the time and New York is close, we'll make sure to visit," Rory reassured her.

"You'll probably have some fabulous apartment right next to Central Park where the taxes are more than my annual salary and you'll be way too cool to visit little old me."

"Too cool for you? Impossible," Rory gave her friend a smile.

"Fine, fine. I guess we'll finish up the conversation about you and Logan over lunch when you can give me all the juicy details," Sue smirked mischievously. "Now I should probably get back to work since the boss is finally here," she nodded her head across the room towards Logan.

Rory smiled. "I wouldn't worry too much about him; he's in a _very_ good mood today."

Sue winked a conspiratory wink at Rory. "See, I always knew you were good for something."

* * *

"Alright Loves, it's time for me to get my groove on. Who's with me?" Finn declared, jumping up from the table they were at and pointing to the dance floor. They had been at the bar for only half an hour and Finn had already downed two shots of tequila and half a pitcher of beer, not to mention the three drinks he'd had at dinner. No one at the table was fazed by the excessive alcohol consumption.

"I think we need a few more drinks before we're ready to 'get our groove on,' Finn," Rory replied. "But you go and have fun."

"But it won't be nearly as much fun without you lovely ladies by my side. Come on; help me make all the other men jealous."

"You know, I think my groove has been off for far too long. It's definitely time to get it back on again," Sue declared, standing up from the table. "Come on Gilmore, dance with us."

Rory looked up at them and shook her head in amusement. "Tell you what, I'll dance with you under one condition…Finn must promise to remain fully clothed."

"Is that _really_ a necessary stipulation?" Sue asked innocently.

The other three at the table looked at her in awe of her naivety, she would learn quickly enough. "Oh yes, after a few drinks our dear friend Finn has a tendency to forget that his underwear belongs on his ass and not his head." Colin informed her.

"Oh, well that's umm...very disturbing," Sue admitted.

"You get used to it," Rory told her matter-of-factly, standing up from the table. "You two joining us?" she asked Colin and Logan.

"I think I'll sit this one out babe," he told her, then turned to his Australian friend, "And Finn, I know how gropey you get on the dance floor, so just watch your hands around my girl."

Finn looked at him aghast. "I'd never lay a finger on the lovely Reporter Girl. I'm insulted by the insinuation that I can't control my actions when I'm around a beautiful woman." Everyone just stared at him. "Fine," he pouted. "I'll watch my hands."

The three friends made their way out to the dance floor to enjoy the music. Rory was having the time of her life. She'd missed this the past few years, just being out with good friends. Sure, she was a homebody at heart who loved movie nights and enjoying a good book while being curled up in a comfortable chair, but Logan and his friends had always pushed her to be more outgoing and she found she'd loved that part of life as well. She had gone back to her old ways after the break up, gone back to her safe little life and Jess had been a part of that, he had been the stay at home, book-wormy type like her and she had found that comforting but she had forgotten what it felt like to experience life first hand and she was happy to have that back. She swayed to the music, laughed at Finn's antics and just enjoyed the company she was in.

"Sue? Rory?" someone called out. The girls looked up to the source of the voice and stopped dancing.

"Alexis, hey!" Rory greeted the girl in front of them nervously; she was a copy editor at the Liberty.

"Who's your friend?" she asked, eying Finn.

"Oh, this is Finn. Finn, this is Alexis, she works at the paper with us," Sue answered since Rory was busy searching the room to make sure Logan wasn't nearby. He and Colin were no longer sitting at their table and she couldn't seem to find them.

"Hello Love, it's a pleasure to meet you," Finn greeted, lifting Alexis' hand and kissing it.

"Do you do that to every girl you meet?" Sue asked him curiously.

"Only the beautiful ones," he replied, flashing a brilliant smile.

Alexis smiled a seductive smile and flipped her hair. "So, Finn, how do you know Sue and Rory?"

"Oh, Reporter Girl and I go way back. We met through…"

"School," Sue cut him off before he could mention Logan's name. "He and Rory are old friends from Yale.

"Ooh, an Ivy League boy. Handsome _and_ smart," Alexis flirted. At this comment Rory stopped looking for Logan and laughed.

"What's so funny, Love?" Finn asked her.

"I'm sorry Finn, you know I love you but you're a big doof and we all know you didn't get into Yale because of your stellar grades."

"Ahh yes, I had much more fun earning my acceptance than if I had had done so through studying," he replied in a wistful voice.

"How did you get in then?" Alexis asked.

"I slept with the recruiter," he said matter-of-factly.

Rory laughed. "And the small fortune your parents donated to the school didn't hurt either."

"Why doesn't any of that surprise me?" Sue asked with a shake of her head.

Meanwhile, Alexis' interest was even more piqued by the mention of the small fortune. "So Finn, do you live here in Philly or are you just visiting?"

"I'm visiting. I live in New York to work for the family company.

"The family company?" She said with great interest. "What kind of company is it?

"I have four words for you, Love…'Foster's: Australian for beer.'"

Alexis practically spit out her drink all over the trio. "Your family owns Foster's beer?"

"Yes indeedy," Finn confirmed. "I'm actually involved mostly with public relations. I have a great deal of experience promoting my assets," he said completely seriously.

"And a great deal of experience having relations with the public," Rory added with a smirk. By this point she had completely forgotten about Logan but at that moment she was reminded as she felt a pair of arms slip around her waist.

"I got you another drink; gin martini, the Lorelai Gilmore drink of choice," Logan told her.

Rory looked down to see that he was indeed holding a martini out to her. She took it from him and turned to give him a weak smile."

"Mr. Huntzberger, fancy meeting you here." Logan looked up to see Alexis. She was looking at them with a wicked smile.

Logan released his grasp on Rory and reached out to politely shake Alexis' hand. "Ms. Finley, nice to see you."

"So, you took off your ring in the shower and forgot to put it back on?" she asked, looking at Rory.

"You told people you forgot your ring in the shower?" Logan asked her, more amused than upset.

"Well it was that or 'I broke up with my fiancé to get back together with my ex-boyfriend who happens to be our boss,' and we didn't want people to know so…."

"No, you didn't want people to know, I simply agreed to go along with it," he reminded her.

"So you don't think we're doing the right thing?" she asked him angrily.

"I didn't say that either. I don't have a particularly strong feeling about it either way and you do so I went with it," he clarified.

"Oh, so you don't care? That's nice, Logan," she snapped, turning and walking away from the group.

"Excuse me," he said, mostly to Alexis as formalities weren't necessary for the others in the group. He quickly followed Rory out of the bar.

Rory felt him come up behind her. He put his hands on her bare arms and rubbed them, trying to offer her warmth. "It's cold out here," he said, taking off his jacket and placing it over her.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped. It's just…they're all going to know now."

"Maybe that's not so bad," he replied.

"Not so bad? Did you see the way she looked at me?" she asked, turning around to face him.

"How was she looking at you?"

"Like I'm a gold-digging, slut who cheated on my fiancé."

"But you're not. You're not any of those things, and now they can know the truth. The rumors are worse than the truth, Ace. And if they're stupid enough to not believe the truth then screw them; we're out of here in a few months anyhow."

"Yeah," she replied, smiling up at him. "You're right. Screw them. We have nothing to be ashamed of."

"Definitely not…So you're OK now?" he asked her. "Ready to go back in?"

"I'm good, but I think I'm ready to call it a night. Can we go?"

"Of course, let me just run in and tell the others we're going. You want to go back to your apartment?"

"Actually, can I stay at your place tonight?"

He gave her a mischievous smirk before walking back into the bar, "Ace, you never need permission to spend time in my bed."


	33. Men Like Huntzberger

They rode the elevator together in silence. Logan gently squeezed her hand in a comforting gesture. They figured that Alexis had wasted no time in spreading the news of their relationship around the office and they had both come to the conclusion that things would be better with the news out in the open…eventually; but Logan knew Rory was concerned with the immediate reactions of her co-workers.

"You ready?" he asked her as the elevator came to a stop. She nodded her head as the doors slid open and they stepped out into the office hand in hand. They made there way to the middle of the floor before they had to part ways. He looked her straight in the eyes to gauge her emotions. She was nervous, he could tell but she was OK. "See you later, Ace," he smiled at her reassuringly before taking a couple of steps away.

"Logan, wait," she called to him and he stopped his movements. _I don't care what they think, I don't care what they think;_ she repeated to herself like a mantra before closing the newly acquired space between them and tilting her head up to give him a quick kiss. She pulled away and smiled. "Have a nice day."

"Well, it's certainly getting off to a good start," he smirked in return. She chuckled softly. "Bye Ace," he said again, placing another peck on her lips before they went their separate ways.

Rory finally looked around the room to see the reactions of the people she'd purposely avoided looking at since the moment she'd walked into the office with Logan. She was beyond amazed to see that everything around her was business as usual. Even if Alexis had, by some miracle, decided not to say anything, she'd just kissed him in the middle of the office…twice. They had to have noticed.

Rory sat at her desk, occasionally stealing glances around the room to see if there was any sign of gossip; everyone seemed to be working intently. She tried to convince herself that it was a good thing, people didn't care, but she couldn't help the unsettled feeling in her stomach. She couldn't take it anymore; why weren't they saying anything? She couldn't concentrate on her work at all. She stood up and walked over to the break room where a guy and a girl, both in their late twenties were filling their coffee cups.

"Coffee?" the girl asked, offering the pot to Rory.

"Umm, yeah, thanks," she replied hesitantly. Did they really not know? She filled her cup and headed back into the newsroom, but instead of heading back to her desk she walked towards Sue. "Have you heard anything?" she asked the red head.

"No, actually, but I think Alexis might not have said anything. Finn gave her a nice little talking to after you left last night."

"What did he say?" she asked curiously, wondering what could have prevented Alexis from sharing her tasty morsel of gossip.

"The truth pretty much, only in the extremely hyperbolic fashion that I already know is typical of Finn. You know, throwing around the big words like 'soul mates' and 'true love'," Sue informed Rory with a bemused smirk on her face. Finn really was something else. "He's curiously romantic for a 25 year old guy who's never been in a monogamous relationship."

"Maybe he's just waiting on his one and only," Rory speculated. Finn was a big drunken goofball but she knew that deep down he was just waiting for the right reason to grow up. "Although, this still doesn't explain the lack of people talking about me," Rory reverted back to the original topic.

"Why not? Sounds like a reasonable explanation to me; Finn appealed to the romantic in Alexis and she kept her mouth shut."

"Alexis may have kept her mouth shut but Logan and I didn't."

"Huh?"

"The kisses," Rory reminded her.

"What kisses? There were kisses? How did I miss that? I never miss anything. I'm all knowing, omnipotent; nothing gets passed me," Sue ranted, upset at being out of the know for once.

"Well apparently _some_ things get passed you because we kissed, twice, right in the middle of the newsroom before he went to his office this morning."

"I must have been in the bathroom," Sue pouted. "Stupid bladder."

Rory laughed but stopped suddenly. "Oh my god."

"What?"

"Look!" she ordered, pointing across the newsroom. Sue followed her friend's gaze to see Logan talking to a reporter. She was practically throwing herself at him; trying to touch his arm, laughing flirtatiously, flipping her hair over her shoulder; it was all so ridiculously cliché.

Sue chuckled at the sight. "What are you laughing at? It's not funny; she's hitting on him," Rory complained. This was beyond absurd; she must have seen Rory and Logan together that morning and yet she was so obviously flirting.

"I'm sorry, Ror, but look at him. That expression on his face is priceless. He looks terrified, guilty and exasperated all in one."

Rory looked over at him once again and smiled. "He _is_ cute when he thinks he's going to get in trouble." At that moment he caught her eye and she could tell he was pleading with her not to blame him for the girl's actions. She gave him a reassuring smile and a tiny wave and he immediately relaxed although it was obvious he still wanted to get away from the girl who clearly didn't understand the concept of subtlety.

"Apparently people haven't been talking about you guys because they've been too busy plotting on how to break you up. Interesting." They continued to stare at the site.

Finally, the reporter walked away from Logan and Rory watched him let out a sigh of relief. The girl walked across the room, crossing in front of Sue's desk. Rory couldn't help herself, "Struck out, huh?"

The girl sent her an evil glare. "I'm just setting the stage for when he comes to his senses and gets bored with you. He just wanted to prove he could have you and now that he has, it won't be long before he moves on."

"You hear that Ror? He's going to get bored with you soon. You better watch out," Sue mockingly warned.

"Oh no. I'm quaking in my very cute, new boots."

Sue looked down at Rory's feet. "Oooh those are cute."

"Thanks, I got them on sale when I went shopping with my Mom on Friday. I wasn't so sure about them at first but she talked me into them."

"Lorelai always does have good taste in clothes," Sue said, the two girls seemingly forgetting the woman standing before them until she spoke again.

"I wouldn't be so glib if I was you. You better enjoy your time with Huntzberger while it lasts because men like him don't stick around for long once they've gotten what they're looking for."

"Men like Huntzberger, huh?" Sue asked curiously.

"I'm intrigued," Rory confirmed, speaking to her friend. She turned back to the other woman. "Tell us, oh enlightened one. Tell us about men like Logan Huntzberger." She leaned back against the desk and crossed her arms over her chest, pretending she was expecting some great insight.

"They get what they want, when they want it. They need a woman who can understand and respect that." Rory's jaw almost dropped in response to this. This girl was basically saying that she was more than willing to let a guy walk all over her and cheat on her as long as he was handsome and rich. She should be used to woman like that by now; she'd met her fair share of trophy wives in Hartford society but she hardly expected to find it in a newsroom in Philadelphia. She contained her shock and continued playing the game.

"Wow, it sounds like you know _all_ about 'men like Logan', you've practically described him to a T. I bet you even know all about the time when he was five and the house next door burned down and the firemen let him ride on their truck. What did his father tell him when he got off and said he wanted to be a fireman when he grew up?" She paused for a beat, as though waiting for the girl's answer. "Oh, that's right; he said 'don't be silly Logan, you're going to be a newspaper man.' Oh and I bet you know all about the crush he had on Alyssa Milano when he was 10. How her wrote her letters once a week for almost the whole year before he gave up on getting a response. And which birthdays was it that he played the part of Molly Ringwald ala Sixteen Candles?" The girl remained silent so Rory continued. "I believe it was 7, 12, 15, 17, and 20. Yes, men like Logan Huntzberger always get what they want, when they want it," she finished in a snidely sarcastic tone.

The girl looked at her in stunned silence for a moment. "How…?" she began.

"How do I know so much about him?" Rory finished for her. The girl shook her head. "Well for starters I actually talk to him. You know, I show an interest in his life, he shows an interest in mine. I know it's a crazy concept for a relationship but it seems to work."

"Please," the girl scoffed, regaining her composure. "You've been together for like, a week."

"Oh, but according to office gossip he whisked me away to Mexico after the Halloween party," Rory replied innocently. The girl glared at her angrily. "Oh, so I take it by your silence that you realize that I wasn't cheating on my ex-fiancé with him? Good to know."

"But Rory," Sue began, playing dumb. "If you've only been together a week, how _do_ you know so much about him? Oh yes," she said, as though now remembering. "You must have learned it all during that year you dated in college."

"Wow, we were in a year long relationship? He really does get bored of me quickly," Rory added sarcastically.

"Oh and don't forget about the two years of pining," Sue chimed in again. "That definitely shows that he'll be over you in no time."

"Oh and asking me to move to New York with him when he gets transferred in a few months. Yep, he definitely doesn't plan on sticking around long." The girl finally gave up and walked off in a huff. Rory and Sue broke down in a fit of giggles.

"Oh man, Gilmore; that was great. I like your bitchy side; it should come out to play more often."

"That _was_ pretty bitchy of me, wasn't it?" Rory asked worriedly. Sue nodded her head in confirmation. "But it was really fun," Rory added, a smile creeping up on her face.

"She totally deserved it; plus, it was highly entertaining for me."

"It's just…so pathetic. I can't believe I was so worried about what people that pathetic thought about me."

"Thank god, it's about time you realized that.

"What can I say," she replied with a laugh. "I'm a slow learner."

* * *

"Come in," Logan replied to the knock at his office door. The door swung open and a brunette with various plastic body parts sauntered into the room, making sure to shut the door behind her. 

"Here are those reports you asked for, Mr. Huntzberger," she told him, her voice annoyingly saccharine. She leaned across his desk as she handed him the papers, trying to afford him the best view down her blouse which had an inappropriately few number of buttons done up. He took a hold of the papers but she did not release her grasp right away.

"Thank you Ms. Newman," he replied tersely.

"Please, call me Tracy," she told him. He sighed exasperatedly as he sat down with the papers; if one more woman told him to call her by her first name he was going to jump out the window. Sure, he didn't like the formality of last names but they were used for a reason and it was obvious that these girls wanted him to call them by their first names for a reason.

"I feel more comfortable using last names in the office, Ms. Newman," he explained. First names were familiar and he didn't want this woman, or any of the others thinking they would be familiar with one another any time soon.

"Well perhaps outside of the office, then," she suggested.

He tried to refrain from rolling his eyes. "If we ever run into one another outside of work I'll try and remember that," he replied as politely as he could.

"Maybe that could be arranged sometime." She smiled up at him coyly.

Did she seriously just go there? This one was blunt. "I really don't think that would be appropriate, Ms. Newman."

"Is it the whole mixing business and pleasure thing? Because you didn't really seem to have a problem with that this morning."

He sighed frustratedly. "'_This morning' _I was with my girlfriend and I really don't think that she would appreciate me going on a date with one of her co-workers; or anyone else for that matter."

"You're 'girlfriend'? Is that what you're calling her now? Well she doesn't really have to know. Besides, I'm sure she understands that a man like you has certain…needs."

His annoyance was rapidly deteriorating to flat out anger and he figured it was time to put an end to this before he really snapped. "I assure you, she understands my needs perfectly well. I'm not sure what preconceptions you have about me or my relationship but let me tell you something; I love her and I am 100 percent, unequivocally, unavailable. Now I suggest you leave," he pointed towards the door.

"You're loss," she shrugged as she turned and walked out.

A few moments later there was another knock at the door and Logan let out a guttural groan, dropping his head to his desk. He didn't know if he could take anymore of this. He took a deep breath and lifted his head back up. "Come in," he called. The door swung open and he let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank god it's you. I thought it was going to be another Stepford Wife wannabe."

She laughed and walked in, shutting the door behind her. "Oh, poor Logan; it must be a hard life getting hit on by every woman in the office under the age of 35."

"Don't be mocking me, Ace. They're relentless. The last one actually asked me out."

"Ooh, where is she taking you? Is she paying? Because I hear it's customary for the asker to pay but I have a strange feeling she doesn't plan on reaching for her wallet any time during a dinner with you."

"You think this is funny?"

"Kind of," she admitted, coming up behind him and slipping her arms around his neck. She leaned down and placed a kiss to his cheek.

"I just don't get how news of us being together resulted in all these women throwing themselves at me," he sighed, leaning back into his chair. She began lightly rubbing his shoulders. "Mmm, that feels good he mumbled."

"Oh, well apparently the news of our relationship is just evidence of its imminent demise. You only wanted me to prove a point and now that you've got me you're free to move on with them," she replied, continuing to massage his back.

"Yes, that's clearly sane person logic."

"No one said they were sane."

"How did we wind up with so many crazy women in this office?" he asked her.

She pretended to think about it for a second. "Maybe it's us," she suggested.

"Huh?"

"Maybe we attract the crazies. I mean think about it; Stars Hollow's basically one big outpatient mental facility, and I think most people in Hartford society are a few cards short of a deck, then there's Finn, and Paris and Doyle, and as much as I love my mother, she's more than a little wacky. We must be like a big crazy person magnet."

"Wow, we really do attract the mentally unstable, I never really thought about it before. It's kind of scary; I mean what if we attract all the crazy people in New York; that could be dangerous."

"Nah, Finn will be there and he's crazy enough to scare away even the insane."

"Ah, using their own tactics against them, I like the way you think, Ace," he smirked.

"Yes, I have a brilliant mind," she agreed, removing her hands from his shoulders.

"Hey, you stopped rubbing," he protested.

"I have to go," she told him.

"Go? Where are you going?"

"To lunch with Sue."

He looked at the clock and saw that it was indeed noon. He looked around his desk at the pile of work that needed to be done and realized there was no way he'd have time for lunch. "No, you can't go. I have to stay here and if you leave me the sexual harassment will start up again," he complained.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad."

"No really, it is. I swear; was there really a time when I enjoyed having half plastic women throw themselves at me?"

"Enjoyed it? Logan you craved it."

"Well I didn't know what I was missing," he replied smiling up at her.

"Aww, you're cute when you're sucking up. Just for that I'll bring you back a taco from Casa Rio."

"So you're really going to leave me here in this pit of despair?"

"Yep," she said, walking towards the door.

"Mean," he called after her.

She waved at him as she exited the office, "Tell your next suitor I said 'hi'" the door closed behind her, leaving Logan alone but smiling. He was beyond lucky to finally have her back in his life.

* * *

"Looooogan," Rory whispered in her boyfriend's ear. He stirred slightly but didn't wake up. "Looooogan," she tried again. 

He grumbled and spoke without opening his eyes. "I never thought I'd say this, Ace, but I'm too tired to have sex right now; go back to bed."

She chuckled a little. "Despite evidence from this past weekend that might suggest otherwise, I _can_ go a full eight hours without making love to you."

"Well then why are you waking me up at…" he turned over and finally opened his eyes to look at the clock, "…3:43 in the morning?" He turned back over to face her.

"Look outside," she commanded him.

He reluctantly sat up and looked out the window. He didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. "I see darkness. A pretty good indication that it's time for sleep."

"It's snowing, Logan," she said with child-like glee.

"So that's what that wet, white stuff falling from the sky is? Wow!"

"It's the first snow fall of the season. Come on, get up," she slipped out of the bed.

"Get up? Why are we getting up?"

"We have to go greet the snow." She made her way over to his closet and pulled out a pair of his Yale sweats for him as well as a sweater and some jeans she had left at his place for her to wear.

"Greet the snow? Are you crazy? It's the middle of the night and it's cold out there. I mean it's snowing for god sake," he turned over and buried his head in his pillow.

"Up!" she ordered, pulling the pillow away and tearing the covers off the bed. He groaned but got up.

"You're insane."

"I know, but that's why you love me so much," she flashed him an innocent smile. They both put their clothes on and made their way out into the night.

They stood out on the side walk watching the snow fall for a minute. Logan placed his arms around Rory and held her tightly, trying to keep them both warm. "So why are we out here again?"

"Mom always said the best things happen when it snows."

"Oh? And what good things are going to happen tonight?" he asked suggestively.

"I thought you were too tired to have sex?" she retorted.

"I was, but the winter air has revivified me."

She smiled and leaned back into him, taking a deep breath and enjoying the miracle of snow. "It's perfect. It's our sign, Logan."

"We needed a sign?"

"We didn't need one, but we got one anyway."

"So why didn't this sign come last week when we first got back together?"

"Last week was all so surreal," she explained. "It was the holiday and we were away from here, away from it all. Now everything's out in the open and we're back to our real lives. The honeymoon's over, you could say. This is what really matters; us, living our lives with each other. The snow knows that."

He didn't respond, he just held her tighter. They remained there for a while, watching the snow accumulate on the quiet city street. They both couldn't help but think that Lorelai had been right; the best things always did happen when it snowed.


	34. Epilogue: Ours

**AN: OK, after careful consideration and much help and advice from my loyal reviewers I've come to a conclusion...Chapter 33 is worth keeping BUT the snow sign scene really is a perfect ending before the epilogue so I rearranged it so that the snow scene went at the end of that chapter instead of the end of the chapter before. I changed the wording a tiny bit for the purpose of continuity but it's basically the same, you probably wouldn't even notice the changes at all if I didn't say anything. **

**So anyway here it is, the final chapter of Skip a Beat. I tried to make it more romantic than cheesy but I think some cheese factor was inevitable. I hope you like it. It's sad that this is over, the end of an error, but hey, now I'll have more time to work on my other 2 stories. **

**Please leave a review. Even if you haven't reviewed yet at all, this is you last chance to let me know what you thought of my story. And to everyone to who's reviewed so far, thank you sooooo much. It would be beyond impractical to thank you all individually but just know that I appreciated each and every review I got. Now on to the story.**

* * *

"I can't believe you bought this place without even consulting me," Rory chastised Logan for the umpteenth time as Frank drove through the New York City streets, taking them to their new apartment. 

"This apartment is perfect, Ace. I promise, you'll love it," he assured her. The realtor had contacted him when the apartment was first listed and he had visited it after a meeting he'd had in the city. He knew instantly that there was no way he could pass this place up; it was perfect for them. Rory had been upset about not being included in the decision but Logan wasn't worried about that; he was positive that as soon as she saw it, she would love the place as much as he did and he also knew that if she had been there she never would have agreed to let him spend so much money, no matter how perfect it was.

"If you're so sure I'll love it then why wouldn't you show me any pictures or tell me anything about it. I don't even know the address."

"You know how I love to surprise you," he smirked. "But if you're so curious, the address is 1124 5th Avenue."

"That doesn't help me _now_," she whined.

"You mean because you can't get on your laptop and look it up?"

"Exactly."

"Don't worry, we're almost there and soon your curiosity will be quelled."

The car turned a corner and they found themselves traveling alongside Central Park. "Oh man, she was right, wasn't she?" Rory turned to face him with a fake pout.

"Who was right about what?" he smiled at her, she sure was cute, and brushed a piece of hair out of her face.

"Sue; she said we'd move into some fabulous apartment overlooking Central Park, and well, there's Central Park," she tapped the window with her pointer finger.

"Well, Sue must know where all the good apartments are in Manhattan." The car came to a stop on the side of the road. "Looks like we're here," he told her with a smirk. Frank came around and opened the car door for them.

"Thanks Frank," Rory smiled at him as she got out of the car followed by Logan.

"Come on!" he pulled her excitedly towards the apartment. It was a brownstone walk up. They had to walk down a few steps to get to the front door. Logan pulled the key out of his pocket and unlocked the door but didn't open it immediately. "OK, now close your eyes," he instructed her.

"Logan," she protested but he insisted. She sighed and did as he said. She heard the door swing open and he pulled her into the foyer.

"OK…now," he told her and she opened her eyes.

"Oh my god, Logan," she gasped upon her first look at their new home. The furniture was already moved in and their things were unpacked thanks to the extra fee he had paid the movers. She looked around, taking in everything around her. The apartment had two stories. The stairs traveled up to the second floor which wound around in a "u" shape so that directly above them the ceiling was two stories high. The floors were made of hardwood. Off to the left was the living room and directly in front of them was the kitchen. The corner between the kitchen and living room was the dinning room. Off to the right there was a small den, less fancy and more cozy then the formal living room.

Logan led her through the ground floor and she marveled at the intricate details of the architecture, the beautiful floors, the marble countertops, and everything else about the apartment that took her breath away. It was much more extravagant than anywhere she had ever lived before but it still felt warm and inviting like a real home should.

"Logan, you shouldn't have. This is amazing, but it's too much," she protested weakly.

"No it's not," he shook his head at her then put his hands to her hips and pulled her in for a soft kiss. "Nothing's too much for you…for us," he said breathily as he pulled away from her lips, still holding on to her.

She smiled at him, "Thank you," she told him softly before continuing in a much more excited tone of voice. "Now if I'm not mistaken, there was another level to explore; one which I expect to have the most important room of all." She turned away from him and grabbed onto his hand, pulling him towards the stairs.

"The master bed room?" he replied with a smirk as he followed her.

Rory stopped and turned to look at him like he was crazy. "No, my study."

"Of course, we need a home for all those books of yours," he laughed in response.

"Yes, it's a very important room," she reasserted. Her voice dropped to a seductive purr. "Don't worry though; I'll give you ample opportunity to prove the importance of the bedroom."

"Is that a challenge, Miss Gilmore?" he asked with raised eye brows.

"Maybe."

"Well Logan Huntzberger never turns his back on a challenge," he replied, pulling her in to kiss her again, this time much more passionately. She ran her hands up his chest and circled them around his neck, running her fingers through the hairs on the back of his head. His hands slid around her waist, pulling her body flush with his. They continued for a moment before he abruptly pulled away. "OK, on with the tour," he said.

She whimpered at the loss of contact with him. "No fair," she whined.

"Now, Ace, if we did it right here then that would seriously undermine my argument that the bedroom is the most important room in the house. Besides, I thought you wanted to see your study."

"Oh yeah, my study," she said happily; her disposition suddenly renewed with a child-like glee.

"You are way too excited over a room full of books," he told her with a smirk. He joked around with her but he seriously loved that something so simple could make her so happy. He loved making her happy. "Now come on you freak."

She gasped at him. "Did you just call me a freak?"

"Yes but you're my freak and I love you."

"Oh, well then I guess that's OK," she relented as they finally began making their way upstairs. They reached the first room in the back of the apartment. It was a beautifully decorated guest bedroom with a full guest bathroom attached.

The next room was, to Rory's delight a study. When Logan opened the door to the room she was amazed. "It was supposed to be another guest bedroom but I had them modify it a bit, I hope you don't mind," he smirked at her. He had had floor to ceiling book shelves built directly into two of the walls. A large, mahogany, "L" shaped desk ran along one full wall and half of the other. Two large, leather desk chairs sat in front of each arm of the desk, affording them both plenty of room to work. In front of the free portion of wall were two plush chairs, perfect for curling up with a good book. It had a classic feel to it, as though it should belong to a professor with one of those silk robes and a pipe. Rory loved it, she was certain it was the perfect room.

Rory didn't even want to leave the room. She spent an indeterminate period of time just perusing to see which classics filled the pages of the leather bound books lining the shelves. Logan stood by and watched her; he never ceased to be amazed by her. She was beautiful and intelligent and passionate and he loved her for all those reasons and more. Still, when she pulled a book off the shelf and went to sit down with it he had to refrain from rolling his eyes. "I assure you, Ace, the books aren't going anywhere. There will be plenty of time to read that after you see the rest of the house."

"Oh yeah, I forgot there was more."

"Come on," he pulled her back into the hallway and on to he next and last room. The master bedroom and bathroom occupied the entire left side of the upstairs.

They entered the room and Rory immediately ran to the bed on jumped on it. "It's bouncy," she exclaimed. "I like it. Big plush pillows, nice soft sheets, and plenty of room for two," she said, sitting up and wiggling her eyebrows at him.

"Oh, is that so?"

"Uh huh."

"Well if it's a good as you say perhaps I should give it a try." He jumped on the bed next to her and then immediately turned over so that he was hovering above her. He bent down to kiss her. "I have to say, I agree with your assessment; this is a _very_ good bed."

They kissed some more before Rory spoke up again. "We just can't seem to get this tour finished, can we?"

"There's not much more to see," he replied huskily, "it can wait."

"But I want to go out on the balcony," she said, rolling away from him and pointing towards the sliding glass doors she had just noticed. She got off the bed and went outside.

He stayed in bed at first, once again just watching her as he had when they were in the study. The balcony faced west, looking out over Central Park and he noticed that the sun was beginning to set. This was it, his perfect moment.

He reached into his pocket, squeezing on tight to what was inside. He got up off the bed and walked out onto the balcony.

"Look," she pointed towards the park as he came up behind her. "It's a horse drawn carriage. This view is _amazing_."

"I'm glad you like it;" he placed his left hand gently on her shoulder. "I think this view was responsible for half the price tag on this place."

"You know what? I'm not going to even bother asking just how big that price tag was; I'm too young to have a heart attack."

He chuckled slightly. "I think it's better that you don't know. But I assure you, we won't be filing for bankruptcy anytime soon."

She leaned back into his embrace as they continued to watch the setting sun. "I can't believe all of this is ours," she said after a while.

"I like the sound of that."

"What?"

"Ours," he answered. "I love sharing all of this with you. I want to share everything with you."

"That sounds nice," she agreed.

He took a deep breath and reached into his pocket with his right hand. When he pulled it out again he wrapped it around her waist. "Marry me."

Her eyes went wide as she looked down to see the red velvet box in his hand. He flipped the top open to reveal a beautiful diamond ring within. The band was made of platinum and towards the font of the ring the band split in two, making a 'v' shape, studded with small diamonds, converging at the center stone which was cut in the shape of a heart. She simply stared at it for a few moments before turning around to face him. "You…I…it's," she stuttered.

A small smile graced his lips. "I think the word you're looking for is 'yes.'"

As the shock of the moment wore off her lips curled up into a big grin. She finally found her words again. "You're awfully sure of yourself, aren't you?"

"Well, I simply refuse to even entertain the possibility that your answer will be anything else. That thought is just too horrible." He didn't have to worry; the possibility that her answer would be anything else didn't exist. It wasn't like the last time, with Jess where she'd had to fight to push her doubts away. This time there were no doubts. She wasn't even sure the word 'no' existed in that moment.

"Really?" she asked playfully. "It would really be that horrible."

"Terrible," he admitted.

"Well, I wouldn't want to be responsible for doing something so awful so I guess I _have_ to say yes."

"Yes?" he asked, just to be sure.

"Yes," she repeated.

Logan breathed a sigh of relief and pulled her into him for a kiss. The gesture was filled with so many emotions, joy and passion, and hope. It was the kind of kiss, the kind of moment she had been hoping for when Jess had proposed and she had been let down. She'd convinced herself that moments like these didn't exist, that they were only meant for fairy tales. She had been wrong, those perfect moments did exist and it was better than she'd hoped for.

She was going to marry Logan and spend the rest of her life with him. He was her forever. She loved him as much as she'd ever love anybody and she knew that no matter how long they were together he'd always be able to surprise and thrill her, that he'd always be the one who could make her heart skip a beat.

* * *

**And they lived happily ever after...at least until I write the sequel. I do have an idea for what I want to do but I probably won't start it until after I finish one of my other stories because 3 stories at once is just too much for me. But just to quell some of you curious souls, I'll let you know that Sue's not gone just because they're in a different state, she'll be back and she will be single (AKA Sue/Finn- yay) And I'm_ not_ planning on bringing back Jess (or Dean- no ex boyfriends at all) **

**I hope you all enjoyed reading this story as much as i enjoyed writing it and again, I would like to thank all of my readers and especially my reviewers :) I love you all.**

**PS- The ring is in my profile**


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